Tokyo or Hong Kong direct to Panama

There're no direct flights between Japan or Hong Kong and Panamá PTY.
Years ago Eva Air had flights twice weekly from Taipei to Panamá PTY, but no more.
I recommend checking KLM, Continental, American and Delta (?) websites, for same airline fares between Far East and Panamá.
Other options: If flying thru the U.S.A. is no problem, check fares to Los Angeles and COPA, Contiental, TACA or Delta from LAX to PTY. Also JAL from Japan to México DF MEX and COPA from MEX to PTY. However if you want the exotic route, check Emirates or Southafrican Airways from Japan or Hong Kong to Sao Paulo GRU and COPA from GRU to PTY.

Your best bet is via JAL to Mexico City, then Copa or TACA to PTY. As for going through the states, be aware that thanks to the new regime (HOORAY!), homeland security and immigration will likely become more international tourist-friendly in the coming months. It may still be a hassle, but not nearly as much as it has been in the past few years thanks to Bush and Paranoid, inc.

New regime will not change anything, and should remain the way it is. You can now apply online for a Tourist/tranist Visa if you are from EU/Japan/Aus anyway. Making things easy.

And going across 2 hemispheres, one developed, one not, is all but impossible, heck, you cant even go from Panama to Dominica/Jamiaca. Why should there be a direct flight from lowly Central America to the Orient? The economies are hugely opposite, and so is trade and tourism.

You can only fly firect from USA to Orient from a handful of cities, to Japan/China. Bangkok is a 2 leg flight.

You cant even fly direct to Panama from the USA north, only Miami, Dallas, Houston, and maybe NYC.

Kayak.com is best. I would think going via LA or Dallas/Houston would be ideal, as Mexico City connections tent o be late night, and never within a 6 hour window, but who knows.

JAL, Korean, South African, Emirates, Malaysian seems to think there's money flying from one developed hemisphere to a non-developed one (or flying between non-developed hemispheres).
EVA Air flew from Taiwan (that's in Asia) to PTY for some time, they dropped the route when cargo loads to/from PTY weren't enough for a twice weekly B747 Combi operation (and the EVA group had secured a port on the Caribbean side of the Panama Canal). This was before the COPA Hub of the Américas came to be.
There're no flights between Panama and DOMINICA, people have to connect in Port-of-Spain. If it's Dominican Republic there are days flights go 6 times per day to 3 different Domincan airports. As for Jamaica, it's 4 times per week.
There are non-stop flights from Panama to Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Ft Lauderdale, Atlanta, Washington Dulles, NYC Newark and NYC Kennedy. Some of those routes are even flown at least 3 times per day.

B.T.W. Panamanian Chinese (or Chinese Panamanian) preffer to fly now-a-days KLM via Amsterdam between China and PTY, Continental via Newark (overnight might be required) if holding U.S. visas.

maybe you can fly via Vancouver

I don't want to go via the States, if possible

AeroMexico from Seoul (maybe Tokyo) via Tijuana and Mexico city where you transfer to Copa Air onwards to Panama on the Skyteam Alliance. Other Skyteam Alliance members in E Asia are China Southern, Northwest, or Korean to get from Hong Kong to Tokyo or Seoul (if AeroMexico doesn't go to Tokyo).

JAL or Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Tokyo and JAL to Mexico City via Vancouver on the OneWorld Alliance. Transfer to Mexicana . Mexicana, which is not a OneWorld partner but they may have an interline agreement with JAL (which is) at least they do with Ameircan (another OneWorld partner).

Most of them are programmed to go through the 'states then direct to Central America although. Maybe you can also check on Korean (which seems to be expanding to a number of destinations) to see if they now offer Central America and the other could be China Southern (another expanding airline from the PRC).

Other then that you should ask around different agents. Eventually the ticket would involve two or three different airlines.

Edited by: anyone101

Aeroméxico flies from Shanghai PVG to México DF MEX. Check this, as thiat flight will be suspended for a while sometime soon, don't have the exact date.

Homeland Security making major changes, on behalf of Obama for tourism. Your dreaming.

If anything, most securuty experts predict other countries will be following the USA due to ongoing security threats.

Tim, one of Obama's immediate goals is to make the US once again more accessible to international tourism to help bolster the economy. This will mean easing up many of the boneheaded immigration policies that are currently being run DHS. I suspect there will be some MAJOR changes in the way short-term and transit passengers are handled in the immediate future.