Japan’s last pair of giant pandas have returned to China, ending the country’s 50-year tradition of hosting the beloved animals.
The twin pandas, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, are leaving amid strained diplomatic relations between Japan and China over the new Japanese Prime Minister’s stance on Taiwan, making it unlikely that replacement pandas will be sent to Japan.
Thousands of fans had gathered at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo to bid farewell to the pandas, who were born there in 2021. China first sent pandas to Japan in 1972 to mark the normalization of diplomatic ties. Over the years, Beijing has used pandas as a diplomatic tool, symbolizing goodwill and soft power, which can be withdrawn when relations sour.
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State broadcaster CCTV showed the pandas arriving in crates in Sichuan province, southwestern China. They are now under quarantine at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, which confirmed their safe arrival early Wednesday morning.
Although pandas are often lent to other countries, China retains ownership of the animals, including any offspring.