Return of Ueno Zoo’s Twin Pandas Will Make Japan Panda-Less for First Time in 50 Years; Prospect for New Loan Look Difficult

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, December 28, 2025

Japan will be without any giant pandas after the twin giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo will be returned to China in late January next year.

The decision was announced by the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Tokyo Zoological Park Society on Dec. 15.

Giant pandas have been loved in Japan as the symbol of Japan-China friendship for over half a century since 1972, when two pandas arrived from China following the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. However, there are no prospects for new loans amid deteriorating bilateral relations.

Visitors will be able to view the pandas at the Ueno Zoo until Jan. 25. With the expected rapid surge in the number of visitors, the zoo decided to limit the number of visitors to the panda enclosure to up to 4,800 a day beginning Dec. 16. The viewing time is restricted to about one minute.

Reservations for the period through Jan. 12 are accepted online on a first-come, first-served basis; for the period between Jan. 14 and 25, applications will be accepted online, and successful applicants will be decided by lottery. Due to the start of a quarantine period, the twins are displayed only in-house.

“It’s sad, but we will accept the fact,” said Mikako Kaneko, the zoo’s deputy director. “It’s our mission to send them back in a healthy condition.”

Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei were born in June 2021. Their parents are Ri Ri and Shin Shin, who were on loan to Ueno Zoo from China. The two pandas are currently the only pandas kept in Japan, and their loan period is set to expire in February. The Tokyo metropolitan government, the central government and the ruling parties have asked China if Japan could continue caring for the current pandas or receive a new loan. However, China has not given a response.

Toshimitsu Doi, head of the Panda Protection Institute of Japan and a former director of Ueno Zoo, is worried that the “zero-panda” situation will be prolonged. He said many people become interested in wild animals and the protection of the natural environment through pandas.

“The situation might be tough, but I hope that Ueno Zoo will become able to continue raising and studying pandas regardless of the relationship between the two countries,” he said.

Tadao Futatsugi, who heads the Ueno Kanko Renmei tourism federation, said it will be unavoidable that the local economy will be affected after the return of the two pandas.

“It’s a pity that pandas will be gone from Ueno,” Futatsugi said. “I hope the two pandas, who were born and raised in Ueno, will do well in China and contribute to the breeding of pandas.”

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New loan appears difficult time being

By Miho Tamura / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

21:00 JST, December 28, 2025

SHANGHAI — China is highly unlikely to loan new pandas to Japan for a while after twin giant pandas at Ueno Zoo are returned to China.

This is because China has little need to suit the convenience of Japan amid deteriorating Japan-China relations following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark during Diet deliberations about a potential Taiwan contingency.

Multiple media outlets in China, including Dushikuaibau, an online media outlet based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, reported on Dec. 15 that two pandas in Japan will be returned to China earlier than scheduled. They also quoted informed sources as saying that a new loan is unlikely in light of the current situation.

China has historically used the popular pandas as a diplomatic bargaining chip and loaned them to friendly nations and countries with which it intends to strengthen cooperation. Regarding Japan, it has also used pandas on such occasions as the turning point of improving bilateral ties.

Prof. Masaki Ienaga of Tokyo Woman’s Christian University believes that China is unlikely to make a new loan for now. “Sending a new panda to Japan will make it look like China is making a concession to Japan,” said Ienaga, who authored a book on the history of China’s panda diplomacy.