Japan waves goodbye to its last giant pandas amid China rift

Many spectators wore panda hats and waved flags as the pandas departed

Hundreds of Japanese panda fans gathered to bid an emotional farewell to the country's last two giant pandas, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, as they departed Tokyo's Ueno Zoo for China on Tuesday.

The four-year-old twins' journey marks the first time in over five decades that Japan will be without giant pandas.

Braving the winter chill, spectators, many adorned in panda hats and waving flags, raised their smartphones to capture the moment a truck carrying the zoo's star attractions left for Narita Airport.

Their destination is a breeding facility in China.

Yutaka Fukuda, director of Ueno Zoo, expressed mixed emotions regarding the departure. "Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei have been beloved by so many people, and so my feelings are complicated," he stated.

"I feel gratitude and also anticipation at the possibility of future breeding endeavours, but I also feel sadness at their departure."

Panda fans gather to see off twin pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei before a truck transporting them departs from Ueno Zoo for their planned return to China (Reuters)

While the pandas' relocation to China had been planned for some time, their exit is also being viewed as a reflection of deteriorating China-Japan relations in recent months.

In November, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese military response. That triggered a furious response from Beijing, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory.

China, in what has been called panda diplomacy, has a history of loaning out pandas to reward its allies, though it has sometimes taken them back to express displeasure.

Native to China, giant pandas typically return home after the loan agreement ends - and cubs born overseas are no exception.

Giant panda Xiao Xiao walks in its enclosure on the final day of public viewing before departing for China at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo (Associated Press)

The twins were born in the zoo in June 2021 and have been its top draw since their parents departed in 2024.

Giant pandas first arrived in Japan from China in 1972 following the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The cuddly black-and-white bears immediately won Japanese hearts, and a dozen successors have become national celebrities.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, asked about China sending new pandas to Japan, said: "I know giant pandas are loved by many in Japan, and we welcome Japanese friends to come visit them in China.”