Japan is about to return the remaining pair of pandas to China.

(CLO) The twin pandas at Ueno Zoo (Tokyo) are about to be sent back to China, meaning Japan will not be keeping pandas as pets for the first time in about half a century.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced that January 25th next year will be the last day the public can see panda Xiao Xiao and her sister Lei Lei at Ueno Zoo.

According to the bilateral lease agreement, the deadline for returning these two individuals to China is February. Both were born in Tokyo in 2021 to panda parents that China had loaned to Japan for breeding research, so ownership belongs to China.

Two panda twins, Xiao Xiao (above) and Lei Lei (below), were born in Japan at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo in 2022. Photo: Tokyo Zoo Association

The prospect of Japan continuing to receive panda loans in the future remains unclear, given recent differences in bilateral relations regarding Taiwan. Pandas have long been seen as a symbol of diplomacy and goodwill in relations between China and other countries, including Japan.

Amid the possibility of Japan being without pandas for the first time in about 50 years, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan “hopes to continue to see exchanges through pandas,” while emphasizing that these exchange programs have contributed to improving public sentiment in both countries over the years.

Many Japanese people expressed regret over this news. A woman in her 70s from Chiba Prefecture said she hoped China would continue lending pandas to Japan, although she acknowledged that this might be difficult to do under the current circumstances.

A 78-year-old Tokyo resident also recalled the long lines to see the panda cub Xiang Xiang at Ueno Zoo in 2017 and worried that Japanese children would no longer have a similar opportunity.

Earlier in June, four giant pandas on loan at Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, were returned to China, leaving the pair at Ueno as the last remaining pandas in Japan.

Since 1972, when the first pair of giant pandas were gifted to Japan by China to mark the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the animal has become a beloved symbol among the Japanese public and a major tourist attraction.

Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei are the offspring of panda mother Shin Shin and panda father Ri Ri, and were brought to Ueno Zoo in February 2011 after their previous parent, Ling Ling, passed away in 2008. The twins' parents were returned to China in 2024, while Xiang Xiang returned to China in 2023.

Source: https://congluan.vn/nhat-ban-sap-tra-cap-gau-truc-con-lai-ve-trung-quoc-10322828.html