Japan bids farewell to last giant pandas before return to China amid souring ties
The four-year-old twin giant pandas left Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo for breeding facility in China as it became the first instance in more than five decades when Japan would have no giant pandas.
Visitors take photographs of giant panda Lei Lei in its enclosure on the final day of public viewing before departing for China at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. (AP Photo)
Hundreds of panda lovers in Japan bid emotional farewell to the country’s last pair of giant pandas, namely Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, as they left Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo for China on Tuesday, in a move which highlights the strained relations between the two nations.
Spectators, present amid the winter cold and wearing panda hats, waved flags and recorded the moment as the truck carrying the two pandas left for Narita Airport.
The four-year-old twin giant pandas left Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo for breeding facility in China as it became the first instance in more than five decades when Japan would have no giant pandas.
A vehicle carrying Japan’s last two giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei departs Ueno zoo in Tokyo. (AP)
The two pandas were born in Japan but China retains their ownership under the rules of Beijing’s “panda diplomacy.” The Chinese government has elevated pandas to the national symbols and goodwill ambassadors and Beijing loans them to countries with which it feels to strengthen its ties.
Ueno Zoo’s director Yutaka Fukuda, on the departure of two pandas, said, “Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei have been beloved by so many people, and so my feelings are complicated. I feel gratitude and also anticipation at the possibility of future breeding endeavours, but I also feel sadness at their departure,” Reuters reported.
However, the departure of pandas from Japan was planned for some time but their move from Tokyo is also being seen as a reflection of deteriorating relations between China and Japan.
The relations between the two biggest economies in Asia started worsening in November when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said any Chinese attack or aggression on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese military response.
The statement triggered a serious response from China, which views Taiwan, a democratically governed island, as its own territory.
China has, in the past, loaned out pandas to several countries which has been termed as panda diplomacy but it has sometimes taken them back to express its displeasure over issues.
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Visitors take photographs of giant panda Lei Lei in its enclosure on the final day of public viewing before departing for China at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. (AP Photo) 
