Twin Pandas Depart Japan, Return to China Amid Tensions

Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, twin giant pandas born in Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo in 2021, arrived in southwest China early Wednesday morning, closing a 50-year chapter of panda presence in Japan and underscoring the fragile state of ties between Beijing and Tokyo.

The two-year-old siblings landed at Chengdu in Sichuan Province at about 1 a.m. on January 28, according to a statement by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. From there, they were transferred to the center’s Ya’an base, where they will remain in quarantine as part of standard health and acclimatisation procedures.

A Quiet Arrival After a Public Farewell

The return of Xiao Xiao, a male, and Lei Lei, a female, was the culmination of weeks of attention in Japan, where thousands of visitors queued at Ueno Zoo for a final glimpse of the animals. Their departure was subdued but symbolic: they were the last two pandas living in Japan.

“The pandas arrived safely early Wednesday morning,” the conservation center said in a brief statement, confirming that the journey proceeded without incident.

In Tokyo, zoo officials had long prepared the public for the moment. Under bilateral agreements, all pandas on loan from China — including those born abroad — remain China’s property and are typically returned once they reach a certain age.

Born in Japan, Bound for China

Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei were born in June 2021 to parents Shin Shin and Ri Ri, a pair that drew record crowds and renewed Japan’s long-standing affection for the black-and-white bears. Their family’s departure unfolded over several years.

• February 2023: Elder sister Xiang Xiang returned to China.
• September 2024: Parents Shin Shin and Ri Ri were repatriated.
• January 2026: Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei followed, ending the lineage in Japan.

With their return, Japan’s zoos are now without pandas for the first time since 1972, when China first sent the animals as a gesture marking the normalisation of diplomatic relations.

Pandas and Power Politics

While presented as a routine transfer rooted in conservation agreements, the timing of the pandas’ return has drawn attention beyond zoological circles. Observers note that it comes amid a downturn in relations between China and Japan, particularly over regional security and Tokyo’s stance on Taiwan.

“The bears are heading back as diplomatic relations between the two countries are at their lowest point in years over the new Japanese prime minister’s stance on Taiwan,” one report noted.

For decades, giant pandas have functioned as China’s most recognisable ambassadors — soft, approachable symbols deployed to signal goodwill and, when withdrawn, quiet displeasure. Their absence can speak as loudly as their presence.

A New Chapter in Sichuan

At the Ya’an base in Sichuan, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei will join one of the world’s largest panda conservation programmes. After quarantine, they are expected to be integrated gradually, monitored by specialists who will assess their health, diet and adaptation to their new environment.

The China Conservation and Research Center has stressed continuity rather than rupture. “Twin pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, the last two pandas living in Japan, successfully returned to China on Wednesday morning,” it said, framing the move as part of long-standing conservation cooperation.

An Ending, and a Reminder

For the Japanese public, the empty enclosures at Ueno Zoo mark the end of an era defined by long queues, souvenir plush toys and televised panda birthdays. For China, the twins’ arrival reinforces a consistent principle: pandas, wherever they are born, always come home.

As Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei begin life in Sichuan, their journey stands as a reminder that even the most beloved animals can carry geopolitical weight — gentle emissaries moving silently along the fault lines of international relations.