Why This Topic Landed in Japan

Fee tit-for-tat between the two governments maps neatly onto the everyday anti-China feeling that circulates online, which is why it caught fire. China's embassy in Japan announced on September 11 that from September 14 it would sharply raise visa fees for Japanese nationals: a single-entry visa goes from 2,250 yen to 16,750 yen, more than seven times the old fee. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson called the change "based on the principle of reciprocity" and signaled it was a response to Japan's roughly fivefold increase in foreigner visa fees in July. Two other stories landed at the same time and were folded into the same "anything involving China" mood: a Chinese man wanted over 2024 graffiti at Yasukuni Shrine received an eight-year prison sentence in China for a separate extortion case—not for the graffiti itself—and a My Hero Academia collaboration with the apparel brand WEGO was abruptly cancelled for unstated reasons, which fans linked to China without confirmation.

Key Reaction Themes

  • Cynical, defiant dismissal (most common) — The dominant note was mockery: "I'm not going anyway, so raise it a hundredfold."
  • Pointing to reciprocity — A steady minority noted that Japan raised its fees first and that the old fee was too cheap to begin with.
  • Dismay at political interference in subculture — Many read the collaboration's cancellation as "self-inflicted sanctions" and were tired of politics reaching into entertainment.

What Japanese Netizens Are Saying

China raises visa fees for Japanese travelers roughly sevenfold

Citing reciprocity, China raised the single-entry visa fee for Japanese nationals to more than seven times the old amount.

Sources: livedoor News

Comments:

  • "Don't come, that's fine by us."
  • "Go ahead and make it a hundred times higher, lol—I'm not going anyway, lol."
  • "Both sides should make it a hundred times the current fee."
  • "It's a natural move, sure, but here's the thing: even as a countermeasure, what happens when a place people want to visit and a place people avoid do the same thing?"
  • "A standoff where only Japan comes out ahead, lol."
  • "It's true the original fee was too cheap—the current amount just isn't appropriate."
  • "Japan just raised it uniformly, not only for China, and they snap back and raise theirs—they must have plenty to feel guilty about."
  • "The economy keeps getting worse because of Takaichi. Rare-earth exports to China are down 80% year on year."
  • "China is fine as a country that's near yet distant."

A man wanted over Yasukuni graffiti gets eight years for a separate case

A Chinese man wanted over 2024 graffiti at Yasukuni Shrine was sentenced in China to eight years for a separate extortion case.

Sources: TBS NEWS

Comments:

  • "His face is out there now, so who knows what happens to him."
  • "A case of it being lucky he wasn't caught in Japan."
  • "If it were the other way around, China would execute you on the spot. Japan is spineless and soft on foreigners, so it gets taken lightly and crimes keep happening—it's the LDP's fault."
  • "In Japan it would've been dropped without charges, but China actually handles it properly."
  • "If you get caught in Japan, worst case it's dropped without charges, lol—of course he ran, lol."
  • "Good that he got a heavier punishment than in our own country."
  • "In Japan he'd have been let off without charges and could even collect welfare, though."

A My Hero Academia collaboration is abruptly cancelled

A My Hero Academia x WEGO collaboration was cancelled just before launch for unstated reasons, which fans speculated was China-related.

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アニメ『僕のヒーローアカデミア』×WEGOコラボ商品販売中止のお知らせ wego.jp/blogs/informat…

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Comments:

  • "The Japanese people stirring up outrage on baseless speculation are the creepier ones."
  • "So persistent. Stuff like this is exactly why real friendship is impossible—they're persistent because they figure they can lord it over you."
  • "The usual China self-inflicted economic sanctions, huh."
  • "For better or worse they're thick-skinned, yet oddly way too sensitive."
  • "The goods are quite made already—finished, even, lol."
  • "A company that folds to nitpicking this minor could never do business in China, lol—maybe they should cancel the flagship-store opening instead."