Storyline: Japan could suffer an economic loss exceeding 2.2 trillion yen (about 14 billion U.S. dollars) from a drastic drop in Chinese visitor numbers, a leading Japanese economist projected on Sunday. Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute, made the assessment hours after China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism formally urged its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Japan, citing security concerns. The alert followed a similar advisory issued by China's foreign ministry on Friday. Kiuchi said that a sharp drop in Chinese visitors could reduce Japan's GDP by 0.36 percent, highlighting the potential economic vulnerability as tourism emerges as a key industry for Japan. Moreover, Chinese tourists have been the top spenders in Japan's tourism market. According to Japan Tourism Agency statistics, Chinese visitors led all foreign tourists in spending in Japan in 2024. According to the Chinese foreign ministry, China is Japan's largest trading partner, second largest export destination and largest source of imports, with bilateral trade totaling 308.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, including 156.25 billion U.S. dollars in Japanese exports to China. Shotlist: FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Aug 18, 2023: 1. Sign showing Japanese prime minister's office FILE: Tokyo, Japan - 2017: 2. Japanese prime minister's office building FILE: Tokyo, Japan - November 2024: 3. Various of traffic, pedestrians FILE: Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan - March 28, 2024: 4. Various of tourists, pedestrians on streets FILE: Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan - December 2024: 5. Various of skiers in ski resort FILE: Tokyo, Japan - November 2024: 6. Street view, pedestrians 7. People holding luggage 8. Various of passengers at airport 9. Airplanes [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]