Japan Travel Sector, Already Reeling From Earthquake Prophecy, Faces Fresh Blow As New Storm Nari Causes More Than 1090 Flights Disruption Amid Rising Tourist Taxes, Dual Pricing, And Overtourism Controls

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Japan Travel Industry, Which Has Already Been Shaken Up Over Earthquake Prophecy, Registers Further Setback arsenic Fresh Storm Nari Brings Over 1,090 Flight Disruptions arsenic Rising Tourist Levy, Dual Pricing, and Overtourism Restrictions—triggering a triple threat of crises successful Japan’s tourism sector. Massive disruptions resulting from terrible upwind related to powerful upwind systems of mighty Storm Nari’s powerful upwind systems triggered cancellations and delays astatine among Japan’s busiest airports, including Haneda, Narita, Fukuoka, New Chitose, and Miyazaki. Adding reproach to injury, sensational earthquake prophecy has already shaken up travelers, importantly reducing oversea visitant assurance and prompting immoderate carriers, specified arsenic Hong Kong Airlines, to cancel routes owed deficiency of demand. Adding further visitant discomfort, Japanese authorities precocious implemented raised departure arsenic good arsenic accommodation levies, arguable dual complaint plans intended specifically astatine oversea travelers, and bolstered overtourism regularisation policies specified arsenic visitant caps arsenic good arsenic tougher crowds measures successful destination hotspots. Individually, they airs stiff challenges; collectively, they airs unprecedented challenges successful Japan’s recreation manufacture arsenic good arsenic accommodation assemblage arsenic they trial them successful unprecedented ways.

Severe Flight Disruptions owed to Storm Nari

Storm Nari moved crossed Japan, causing wide recreation disruption successful its wake. In nan past 24 hours alone, a mixed 1,090 flights person been subjected to terrible disruptions, pinch 1,054 being delayed and 46 being level retired cancelled, causing chaos astatine awesome airports passim nan nation. Amongst affected airports astir severely were Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), pinch 497 delays and 13 cancellations, Fukuoka Airport pinch 233 delays and 9 cancellations, New Chitose Airport pinch 113 delays and 7 cancellations, Miyazaki Airport pinch 50 delays and 9 cancellations, and Narita International Airport pinch 161 delays and 8 cancellations.

Leading airlines, including Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Jetstar Japan, and ANA Wings, faced terrible impacts, arsenic passengers confronted cancellations and agelong delays. Major world carriers operating to and from Japan, including United Airlines, China Airlines, EVA Air, Lufthansa, Finnair, and Korean Air, besides reported disrupted flights, compounding world recreation chaos.

Passengers successful these airports person reported confusion, difficulties, and agelong hold pinch galore of them being stranded overnight aliases altering formation itineraries altogether owed to wide disruption inflicted by Storm Nari.

Earthquake Prophecy Leaves Tourism Already Vulnerable

Even earlier Storm Nari’s destructive winds and rains, Japan’s recreation assemblage was already weakened owed to wide worry caused by an earthquake prophecy. Inspired by manga creator Ryo Tatsuki’s schematic novel, “The Future that I Saw,” a vivid prediction—claiming a important earthquake would devastate Japan successful July 2025—spread crossed societal media, creating a activity of viral panic.

This prediction caused panic among some section and overseas travelers, resulting successful a important diminution successful tourism arrivals, peculiarly successful regions specified arsenic Hong Kong, arsenic fearfulness of earthquake catastrophe had substantially lowered recreation demand. Hong Kong Airlines suspended flights owed to debased request caused by specified fears, temporarily halting flights to Japan’s Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures, further cutting basal tourism income.

Even though existent quake occurrences person mostly stayed successful Japan’s distant Tokara Islands—more than 2,000 earthquakes documented since precocious June, pinch immoderate notable occurrences pinch strength levels of up to “lower 6″—the psychological effect connected visitors has already caused terrible financial losses successful Japan’s tourism-reliant regions.

Japan Introduces Rising Tourist Taxes and Fees

Amongst these biology and psychological issues, Japan’s management keeps successful spot strict economical policies directed astatine tourists. Japan’s airdrome departure tax, primitively astatine ¥1,000 per outbound world passenger, is taxable to proposals, pinch imaginable increases arsenic precocious arsenic ¥3,000–¥5,000 arsenic of fiscal twelvemonth 2025. All raised revenues—a imaginable ¥49 billion—the management intends astatine utilizing successful counterbalancing overtourism concerns, enhancing infrastructure, arsenic good arsenic strengthening situation consequence capacities.

Adding further strain connected tourists, Japan conscionable signed disconnected connected further accommodation taxes successful 11 of its astir bustling traveler districts, specified arsenic Kyoto, Osaka, Otaru, and Okinawa. Overnight travelers now person to salary ¥100 to ¥500 per night, pinch Kyoto authorities moreover mounting plans for further hikes of up to ¥10,000 per nighttime astatine highest tourism seasons.

Furthermore, arsenic of November 2026, Japan will extremity its long-lasting contiguous depletion taxation exemption authorities for overseas tourists, successful spot of a pay-upfront-and-refund-upon-departure statement successful bid to forestall rampant exploitation of tax-free shopping. Such a alteration successful taxation argumentation is apt to person a immense effect connected visitant expenditure behaviour arsenic good arsenic tourism income successful general.

Implementation of Controversial Dual Pricing for Tourists

Further muddling nan tourism industry, Japan is group to adopt a dual-pricing argumentation arsenic of July 2025. This arguable argumentation will person differential prices successful awesome attractions, wide transit, and different premier attractions, pinch non-residents paying higher charges than locals.

Pilot projects successful starring attractions specified arsenic Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Niseko, and Okinawa activity to modulate numbers of visitors arsenic intends of stemming antagonistic effects of overtourism. Whereas immoderate policymakers position specified action arsenic basal successful balancing infrastructure pressure, astir of those visiting arsenic good arsenic tourism assemblage players person decried dual pricing arsenic being discriminatory arsenic good arsenic tin of hurting Japan’s world image.

Intensifying Measures Against Overtourism

Japan’s proactive overtourism regulations persist successful consequence to overcrowding, biology degradation, and stressed section infrastructure. Mount Fuji now officially limits climbers regular to 4,000 pinch a value of ¥2,000 per visitant to money conservation and upkeep initiatives. In engaged districts specified arsenic Tokyo’s Shibuya, intoxicant is prohibited astatine ample events pinch strict regulations connected crowd power and deployment of guards to uphold order.

At nan aforesaid time, Japan’s older cities, for illustration Kyoto, suffer nether unbearable strain caused by unprecedented tourism volumes, pinch utmost carrier gridlock, discarded issues, and manpower shortages. In response, authorities instrumentality car restrictions, acquisition campaigns targeting tourists, arsenic good arsenic accrued levies designed to curb visitant increases and redistribute visitors towards little frequented areas.

Sharp Tourism Decline Amid Earthquake Prophecy

Despite patient wide tourism activity, Japan’s recreation assemblage was afflicted pinch a monolithic slowdown owed to wide panic complete a forecast of an earthquake. Spurred connected by a go-viral manga prophecy of a devastating quake successful nan summertime of 2025, panic quickly swept crossed Asia, starring to a measurable autumn successful arrivals retired of halfway markets.

Hong Kong saw nan top impact, pinch visitant arrivals successful May 2025 slipping by 11.2% year-on-year, reaching conscionable 193,100 tourists. Seasonal reservations successful cardinal East Asian markets including Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and China dropped importantly by up to 50%. Season-of-the-year reservations successful highest summertime periods did worse, crashing arsenic debased arsenic 83%. Even accepted tropical sources of tourism revenues successful Southeast Asia reported declines of astir 30% arsenic concerns mounted.

The financial costs of this slowdown successful tourism is considerable, pinch Nomura Research Institute putting losses arsenic precocious arsenic ¥560 cardinal (some US $3.9 billion). It is simply a testament to really powerful traveler sentiment, nary matter really founded successful unsubstantiated rumor, tin beryllium successful influencing tourism patterns.

Japan’s tourism agency is now confronted pinch some nan situation of making reassurances pinch fears continuing while successful nan meantime dealing pinch semipermanent implications of this unprecedented prophecy-led downturn.

Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)

• Total disruptions: 510 flights
  • Delays: 497 flights
  • Cancellations: 13 flights

Airlines astir impacted:

• ANA Wings: 48 delays, 6 cancellations
• Japan Airlines: 183 delays, 4 cancellations
• StarFlyer: 25 delays, 2 cancellations
• All Nippon Airways: 141 delays, 1 cancellation
• United Airlines: 5 delays (41%)

Fukuoka Airport

• Total disruptions: 242 flights
  • Delays: 233 flights
  • Cancellations: 9 flights

Airlines astir impacted:

• Japan Airlines: 48 delays, 3 cancellations
• ANA Wings: 23 delays
• All Nippon Airways: 25 delays
• Jetstar Japan: 16 delays (64%)
• Oriental Air Bridge: 20 delays, 4 cancellations (8% cancellation rate)

New Chitose Airport

• Total disruptions: 120 flights
  • Delays: 113 flights
  • Cancellations: 7 flights

Airlines astir impacted:

• Japan Airlines: 23 delays
• Air Do: 15 delays
• All Nippon Airways: 15 delays
• Peach Aviation: 12 delays
• Jetstar Japan: 10 delays, 3 cancellations (13% cancellation rate)

Miyazaki Airport

• Total disruptions: 59 flights
  • Delays: 50 flights
  • Cancellations: 9 flights

Airlines astir impacted:

• Japan Airlines: 14 delays, 3 cancellations (8% cancellation rate)
• ANA Wings: 8 delays, 2 cancellations
• Oriental Air Bridge: 9 delays, 4 cancellations (16% cancellation rate)
• Solaseed: 12 delays

Narita International Airport

• Total disruptions: 169 flights
  • Delays: 161 flights
  • Cancellations: 8 flights

Airlines astir impacted:

• Japan Airlines: 21 delays
• Jetstar Japan: 32 delays, 4 cancellations (5% cancellation rate)
• United Airlines: 5 delays, 3 cancellations (12% cancellation rate)
• Peach Aviation: 7 delays
• EVA Air: 5 delays

Combined Total Disruptions Across Airports:

• Total Flights Delayed: 1,054 flights
• Total Flights Cancelled: 46 flights
• Overall Flight Disruptions: 1,100 flights

These precise airport-specific specifications intelligibly outline nan standard and scope of disruption owed to Storm Nari, providing a broad overview aligned pinch your header and introduction.

Japan’s tourism industry, already buffeted by worries stemming from a wide published earthquake prediction, is further rocked arsenic New Storm Nari is responsible for complete 1,090 formation disruptions, successful summation to pressures caused by precocious levied tourism taxes, contentious dual pricing, and stricter overtourism measures. These concurrent crises frighten to push Japan’s tourism assemblage past nan breaking point.

Japan Navigates Several Tourism Crises

With a difficult pairing of earthy calamities, psycho-anxieties, and contentious argumentation shifts, Japan’s tourism manufacture is experiencing 1 of its astir difficult times successful caller history. As formation schedules return a melodramatic deed owed to continuing Storm Nari, earthquake phobias, arsenic good arsenic caller tourism levies, dual rates, and overtourism measures, each lend to mounting levels of uncertainty astir recreation successful Japan. Japan’s tourism assemblage will look acute unit arsenic authorities compete pinch uncovering a equilibrium betwixt maintaining section environments and communities pinch maintaining nan basal economical benefits of tourism. Successive months will find whether specified efforts recognize sustainable tourism, aliases different create further disorder among visitors arsenic good arsenic financial losses.