Summary
Japan will soon be without giant pandas for the first time in over 50 years as two pandas, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, are set to return to China. This occurs amid worsening relations between Japan and China, following Japan's statements about possible military action regarding Taiwan. The departure of the pandas signifies the end of a loan agreement between the two countries.
Key Facts
- Japan will not have any pandas after Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei leave next week.
- The pandas are leaving because a 10-year loan agreement, extended by five years, has ended.
- Pandas have been in Japan since 1972, when Japan and China established diplomatic relations.
- Japan's failure to extend the agreement is seen as a response to Japan's statements on Taiwan.
- In response, China has also imposed travel and trade restrictions on Japan.
- The pandas were born at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo in 2021 and their parents were returned to China in 2024.
- China has used panda loans to express diplomatic displeasure in the past.
