Japan to Become Panda-Free for the First Time in Half a Century

Tokyo – Japan’s last two giant pandas, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, are set to depart for China on January 27. According to local media, this will mark the first time in nearly half a century that Japan will be without any pandas.

The Kyodo News agency reports that the twin pandas will be transported from Ueno Zoological Gardens to Narita Airport near Tokyo and are scheduled to arrive in China on January 28. Born in 2021, these twin pandas’ mother, Shin Shin, and father, Ri Ri, were already returned to China in September 2024. Their older sister, the famous giant panda Xiang Xiang, returned to China in February 2023.

Under a prior agreement between China and Japan, the Ueno Zoo pandas were scheduled to be returned by February 2026. Japanese media reports that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government consulted with the Chinese side regarding the specific date and decided to move the return forward by about a month.

Last June, four giant pandas at a zoo in Wakayama Prefecture were also sent back to China. After Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei depart, Japan will be completely panda-free for the first time since two pandas arrived in 1972. That year, to commemorate the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries, China gifted pandas to Japan.

The giant panda is not only China’s national treasure but also a symbol of friendship and cultural exchange between the two countries. Analysts note that with all pandas now returned, there is interest in when the Japanese public will once again have the opportunity to see these gentle giants in their country.