Newsletters
Thousands of visitors gathered at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo for a final look at giant panda twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, who are scheduled to be sent back to China, ending Japan’s decades-long stretch of hosting the animals.
Emotions ran high at the zoo as visitors waited in line for nearly three and a half hours to catch a final glimpse of the twin cubs, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei. The development comes at a time when relations between Tokyo and Beijing are extremely tense.
Bilateral ties had noticeably deteriorated after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tokyo would become militarily involved if China attacked Taiwan. With the twins’ return to China, Japan will be without pandas for the first time since 1972, the year the two countries normalized diplomatic relations.
Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, the beloved giant pandas at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, are returning to China on Jan. 27. This means Japan will be without pandas for the first time in about half a century, local media reported.
Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Beijing has used giant pandas as a goodwill gesture toward both allies and rivals. However, China retains ownership of all pandas it loans to foreign countries, including cubs born abroad. In return, host countries pay an annual fee of about $1 million per panda pair.
In recent years, China’s panda loan arrangements have coincided with trade agreements. In 2011, the decision to send two pandas to Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland was made while contracts were being negotiated for the supply of salmon, Land Rover vehicles and energy technologies to China.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, around 108,000 people applied for 4,400 available slots allocated for a final viewing of the popular pandas.
Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei were born at Ueno Zoo in 2021 to their mother, Shin Shin, and father, Ri Ri, who were loaned to Japan as part of breeding research.
China’s panda loan agreements typically last 10 years, though they are commonly extended. Due to strained ties between Beijing and Tokyo, it remains unclear whether Japan will receive new pandas.
Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan angered Beijing, which has not ruled out the use of force to “reunify” with the island. Since then, both sides have adopted increasingly hardline steps and rhetoric toward each other. Earlier this month, China tightened export restrictions on products linked to rare earth elements to Japan.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
