Executive Officer of Japan Airlines: Expects closer Sino-Japan cooperation

Cultural exchange and friendship

On September 25, 1972, the charted flight offered by Japan Airlines to Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka for his visit to China landed in China for the first time. In October of the same year, to celebrate the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, a pair of pandas, which symbolized the Sino-Japan friendship, were sent to Japan as gift. The two pandas Kangkang and Lanlan lived in Ueno zoo in Tokyo after their arrival and soon became a hit in Japan. It was Japan Airlines that transported the two pandas.

Photo: Kangkang and Lankan, symbol of Sino-Japan friendship

On September 29, 1974, two years after the normalization of Sino-Japan relations, Japan Airlines opened a flight to Mainland China and has since served as the aerial bridge for transportation of people and cargo between China and Japan.

During the Great Tangshang Earthquake in 1976 and Wenchuan Earthquake in 2008, Japan Airlines participated in the rescue activities by transporting emergency goods to the disaster areas.

In 2009, due to the loosened travel visa policy, more and more Chinese people began to travel to Japan. There were also changes in terms of Chinese tourists themselves. More group tours have been replaced by personal tours, while smaller cities in Japan have been gradually favored over mega cities, and experiences favored over mere shopping.

Akira Yonezawa said that the function of an airport is not only to transport passengers but also to convey culture and spirit and Shanghai as a global city should take the responsibility to convey Chinese culture.

According to statistics, 112 million passengers passed through Shanghai airports in 2017,  ranking 4th among the global cities. In 2017, 7.35 million Chinese tourists traveled to Japan, an increase from only 1.41 million in 2010. The number of tourists to Japan skyrocketed by more than 5 times. Meanwhile, Chinese tourists have brought Chinese culture to Japan during their visits.