The last two giant pandas at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, are set to return to China on January 27. The final public viewing will be on January 25, with transportation from Narita Airport. This marks the first time Japan will be without giant pandas since their arrival in 1972.
The 4-year-old twin giant pandas at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, male Xiao Xiao and female Lei Lei, were born there in 2021 to parents Shin Shin and Ri Ri, both loaned from China. All giant pandas in Japan are on loan for breeding research, with ownership remaining with China.
As announced by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in December, the twins will be airlifted from Narita International Airport on January 27 to a facility in Sichuan Province, arriving on January 28 to join their elder sister Xiang Xiang. The final public viewing at the zoo in Taito Ward ends at 4 p.m. on January 25. For the lottery slots from January 14 to 25—totaling 48,400—311,500 people applied, with the last day's applicant-to-slot ratio reaching 24.6.
Since the first pair arrived from China in 1972 to mark the normalization of diplomatic ties, giant pandas have symbolized Japan-China friendship and drawn crowds as tourist attractions, boosting the economy. The Ueno twins became Japan's last pandas in June last year after four at Adventure World in Wakayama Prefecture returned to China.
Prospects for new loans are uncertain amid strained Japan-China relations. While some view this as part of panda diplomacy, it follows the scheduled end of the loan agreement.
