SAPPORO/TOKYO – The cacophony of rapid-fire Mandarin has grown conspicuously quieter across Japan, amid the diplomatic winter between Asia’s two largest economies.

Sapporo was relatively calm during my visit last week, with ample space to walk around and bask in the festive atmosphere of winter illuminations and the Christmas Market at Odori Park, under the iconic television tower.

Similarly, Tokyo’s Ginza, the epicentre of bakugai (explosive buying), remains busy: it is as if locals and tourists of other nationalities are quickly filling the gaping void left by the Chinese.

People are still travelling to and around Japan. But the subdued Mandarin is an outcome of an irate

Beijing discouraging Chinese citizens from visiting Japan,

including through travel warnings and even fake news that perpetuate an image of an “unsafe” Japan where Chinese citizens are targets for violent crime.

The trigger for Beijing’s ire was a

Nov 7 parliamentary remark

by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in response to an opposition lawmaker’s question, that an armed attack by China on Taiwan involving a naval blockade could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. The implication was that Japan could intervene militarily, a red line for China where Taiwan is concerned.

With no off-ramp on the horizon, economists and tourism-focused businesses are