(Adnkronos) – No more giant pandas in Japan. Farewell, at least for now, to ‘panda diplomacy’. The last two are returning to China, leaving the Land of the Rising Sun without a single specimen for the first time since 1972. All this comes after ‘complicated’ months in relations between Beijing and Tokyo, and giant pandas, Japanese media recall, were considered a symbol of “friendship” between the two countries, which have been experiencing an escalation of tensions since last year with statements by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan, which sparked the anger of the People’s Republic.
Xiao Xiao and her twin, Lei Lei, are no longer at Ueno Park in Tokyo. Tomorrow they are expected in China’s Sichuan province, where their mother, Shin Shin, and since 2023 their older sister, Xiang Xiang, live.
Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei were born in Ueno in 2021 to Shin Shin and Ri Ri, who returned to the Dragon in September 2024, the Chinese agency Xinhua recalls. From the Tokyo government, the Japanese Kyodo reports, they say they hope for the arrival of more pandas. The agreement for the ‘loan’ of Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei by China, Asian giant media highlight, foresaw their return to China by next February, but it was decided to anticipate the ‘journey’. The first giant panda arrived in 1972. Many people have rushed to say goodbye to Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei in recent days. For the occasion, tickets were also put up for grabs in a lottery dedicated to the beloved pandas.
