The two pandas, twins Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, live at Ueno Zoological Gardens in central Tokyo. They were loaned to Japan under China’s long-running “panda diplomacy” program, which has symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
According to Tokyo authorities, the pair will be sent back to China about a month before their loan agreement expires in February. The metropolitan government, which operates the Ueno zoo, had requested an extension of the loan due to the animals’ popularity, but China did not agree, Japan’s Nikkei business daily reported.
Japan currently has no other pandas. In September last year, Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao’s parents were also returned to China, prompting emotional farewell scenes as thousands of fans gathered to see them for the last time.
The Asahi Shimbun reported that Tokyo is seeking to borrow a new pair of pandas, though it is considered unlikely they would arrive before the twins are repatriated.
The development comes amid strains in relations between Asia’s two largest economies. Tensions have increased after Japan’s conservative Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of an attack on Taiwan, comments that drew sharp criticism from Beijing.
Despite the diplomatic challenges, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara emphasized the positive role pandas have played in bilateral relations. “Exchanges through pandas have contributed to improving the feelings between the people of Japan and China. We hope such exchanges will continue,” he said at a regular press briefing.
Kihara added that several local governments and zoos in Japan have expressed interest in hosting pandas, though he did not say whether the national government had formally requested new animals from China.
Ueno Zoo has long been a focal point of panda diplomacy and has cooperated with institutions in China and the United States on breeding efforts. Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao were born at the zoo in 2021 to their mother, Shin Shin, who arrived in Japan in 2011 and was returned to China last year.
Breeding giant pandas in captivity remains notoriously difficult due to challenges such as low fertility rates, false pregnancies, and high mortality among newborn cubs.
