Tokyo [Japan], January 26 (HBTV): Japan’s last two giant pandas, twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, were seen by visitors at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo on Sunday ahead of their scheduled return to China later this month.
Their departure will mark the first time Japan will be without giant pandas since 1972, a development that comes amid strained relations between Tokyo and Beijing.
The twins were born in 2021 at Ueno Zoo to mother Shin Shin and father Ri Ri. Both parents were returned to China in 2024, a year after the twins’ sister, Xiang Xiang, was also sent back.
Japan first received giant pandas in 1972 to commemorate the normalisation of diplomatic relations with China. Since then, additional pandas have either been sent from China or born in Japan, becoming major attractions for visitors.
Although born in Japan, the pandas remain the property of China under the framework of Beijing’s panda diplomacy, under which the animals are regarded as national symbols and loaned to countries as goodwill ambassadors.
While the return of the two pandas had been scheduled in advance, their absence has been widely viewed as reflecting a downturn in Japan–China relations in recent months. Last year, China also recalled four pandas from a zoo in a Japanese town that relied heavily on panda-related tourism.
In November last year, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a military response from Japan. Beijing has since responded with a series of economic measures, including reducing flight services and issuing advisories cautioning citizens against travel to Japan.
As a result, the number of Chinese visitors to Japan fell sharply last month compared to a year earlier, declining to about 330,000, according to Japan’s tourism authorities. (ANI)