However, over the past weekend, Thai Vietjet announced that its flight launch plans had been affected by the United States government shutdown, which has caused the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to suspend the issuance of new aircraft certifications.
As a result, the delivery of the airline’s new Boeing 737-8 aircraft has been delayed, forcing Thai Vietjet to postpone the launch of its direct flights to Tokyo (Narita) and Osaka from the original December 2025 schedule to mid-January 2026.
Passengers affected by the postponement who wish to travel on their original dates may transit via Taiwan for flights to Osaka or via Vietnam for flights to Tokyo. Alternatively, passengers may choose to reschedule or retain the value of their tickets as travel credits for future use.
Regardless of their choice, all affected passengers with bookings on the two routes will receive a gift voucher worth 2,000 baht from the airline.
Meanwhile, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), a total of 28,383,600 foreign tourists visited Japan during the first eight months of 2025 (January–August), an 18.2% increase year on year.
Thai tourists ranked sixth among international arrivals, with 764,600 visitors, up 8.2% compared to the same period last year. In August alone, 35,500 Thais visited Japan, marking a 2.4% increase from the same month last year.
The top five source markets for Japan in the first eight months of 2025 were:
China – 6,711,600 visitors (+46.1%)
South Korea – 6,123,100 (+5.4%)
Taiwan – 4,509,700 (+9.6%)
United States – 2,173,000 (+22.9%)
Hong Kong – 1,673,200 (–7.1%)
AloJapan.com