The Eagan, Minn.-based airline, which operates seven flights a week on the route, will stop the service starting Oct. 1, Takahashi said. Northwest also canceled flights from Kansai, which serves the western Japanese city of Osaka, to Los Angeles and Seattle.

“Once demand recovers, we will resume flights” between Kansai-Los Angeles and Kansai-Seattle, Takahashi said. Demand for flights on those routes declined after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., the Irag war and the severe acute respiratory syndrome scare.

The drop in Japanese tourism has continued to hurt Hawai‘i’s economy. Total visitor arrivals in Hawai‘i fell 6.7 percent in June, compared to June 2002. The state has been experiencing a trend of slightly rising numbers of visitors from the Mainland and sharply declining numbers of international tourists, including a nearly 31 percent drop in Japanese arrivals in June.

Japan Airlines cut its Honolulu flights in April and again in May after the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak and lingering effects from the Iraq war dampened Japanese interest in traveling abroad.