TOKYO, Jan 20 (NNN-NHK) – Giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, currently residing at a zoo in Tokyo, will depart for China on Jan 27, marking the first time in about half a century that Japan will be without any pandas, local media reported.
The twin pandas will be transported from the Ueno Zoological Gardens to Narita airport, near Tokyo, to fly to China and are scheduled to arrive on Jan 28, Kyodo News reported.
Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei were born in 2021 to their mother Shin Shin and her mate, Ri Ri, which were returned to China in Sept, 2024. Their elder sister, celebrity giant panda Xiang Xiang, returned to China in Feb, 2023.
Under a prior agreement between China and Japan, the Ueno zoo pair were scheduled to be returned by Feb, 2026. Japanese media earlier reported that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government consulted with the Chinese side on the specific date and agreed to move the return forward by about one month.
In June last year, four giant pandas at a zoo in Wakayama Prefecture were also sent back to China. After Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei leave, there will be no giant panda in Japan for the first time since two arrived in 1972, to commemorate the normalisation of diplomatic ties between the two countries.– NNN-NHK