Japan Sends Last Pandas Home Amid Strained China Ties
Ueno Zoo will return twin pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei to China, leaving Japan without pandas for the first time in 50 years amid diplomatic tensions.
Overview
Ueno Zoo officials said twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei will be returned to China on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2025, ending pandas' display in Japan for the first time in 50 years.
The move follows strained ties after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan and Beijing's retaliatory steps, which Tourism Minister Yasushi Kaneko said cut Chinese arrivals to about 330,000 last month.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in a briefing that China welcomes Japanese friends to visit pandas in China, officials confirmed.
Katsuhiro Miyamoto, an economics professor at Kansai University, estimated Ueno Zoo could lose about 20 billion yen ($128 million) annually without pandas, with multi-year losses reaching tens of billions of yen.
Ueno Zoo director Hitoshi Suzuki said the zoo will keep the panda facility intact and hopes to continue conservation and breeding research with China.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the pandas’ departure chiefly as a consequence of strained Japan–China ties, emphasizing emotional and economic loss. Editorial choices—headline tying exits to diplomatic strain, lead asserting relations at a low point, and prominent placement of fan/shopkeeper anecdotes plus an economist’s loss estimate—steer readers toward diplomatic and local-impact narratives.