Pandas Depart Tokyo, Leaving Japan Without Bears & With Tense Ties

For decades, Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo has been a place where children squealed, grandparents queued, and a surprising number of adults wore panda-themed hats without shame. But this week, that era ended. Japan has sent its last two giant pandas, four-year-old twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, back to China, leaving the country panda-less for the first time in over 50 years. The farewell was part nostalgic blockbuster, part geopolitical footnote, and very much the end of an emotional chapter.

Fans braved Tokyo’s January chill, lined up for hours, and clutched stuffed toys as the twins were driven out of Ueno Zoo and onward to Narita Airport. It was the sort of goodbye that felt bigger than two black-and-white bears, because in a way, it was. The siblings may be heading to a breeding facility in Sichuan, but they leave behind millions of memories, several truckloads of merchandise, and one extremely panda-shaped hole in Japan's cultural landscape.

Panda Diplomacy Strained

Japan’s fascination with pandas dates back to 1972, when Beijing loaned a pair to celebrate the normalisation of diplomatic ties. Since then, more than 30 giant pandas have lived, and occasionally been born, at Japanese zoos, quickly ascending from zoological curiosities to full-blown icons. Ueno Zoo became especially famous for its panda “family tree,” attracting visitors from across the country whenever a cub arrived or celebrated a milestone.

But pandas were never just cuddly. Under China’s long-standing cultural diplomacy, the animals are loaned abroad to countries with which Beijing seeks to maintain or deepen relations. Ownership remains with China, even for cubs born overseas, and host countries pay substantial annual fees, often justified as conservation support and scientific collaboration.

That arrangement now sits in uneasy contrast with the current state of China–Japan relations. Tensions escalated in late 2025 after Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi indicated that Tokyo might join a defensive response if China moved militarily against Taiwan. Beijing bristled at the suggestion; diplomatic frost followed.

Fans Feel The Shift

The pandas’ return had been scheduled in advance, their loan was due to expire in February, but the timing made the move appear less like an administrative footnote and more like a symbolic chill. Chinese tourism to Japan has declined amid warnings about public safety. Cultural exchanges and events aimed at bilateral goodwill have been postponed. And now, the last animals synonymous with “friendship” have boarded a plane home.

That symbolism was not lost on fans. Demand for final viewings skyrocketed. Ueno Zoo shifted to reservation-only entries and ran an online lottery for the last 12 days, drawing more than 100,000 applicants for just 4,400 slots. Families snapped final photos, children waved small flags, adults wiped their eyes, and an entire generation’s weekend ritual suddenly wrapped up.

The merchandising frenzy was equally surreal—gift shops reported brisk sales of panda stationery, clothing, snacks, and plush toys, as if fans were stockpiling mementos for a future with no guaranteed sequel. And for now, that future does indeed look uncertain. Requests from Tokyo’s metropolitan government for replacement pandas have reportedly gone unanswered, and speculation in Chinese state media suggests any new arrangement would require a diplomatic thaw.

Future Uncertain Still

Japan’s last giant pandas leaving in 2026 feels like a full-circle moment—because 1972, when they first arrived, marked a political reset. Now they depart amid a new diplomatic riddle centered around Taiwan, trade restrictions, and national security anxieties. The loss is felt most viscerally not in government corridors, but in Tokyo’s parks, classrooms, and family photo albums.

Meanwhile, the twins will join their sister Xiang Xiang at a conservation facility in Sichuan province, where they will enter quarantine and eventually integrate into China’s broader breeding and research ecosystem. China continues to promote pandas as both cultural emissaries and species conservation successes, though the pattern of retrieve-and-return has become more frequent in recent years as geopolitical winds have shifted.

Will pandas ever return to Japan? Experts suggest that nothing about panda diplomacy is permanent; it is responsive, symbolic, and occasionally transactional. If ties warm, pandas can re-emerge as goodwill ambassadors. If not, Ueno Zoo’s panda house may remain quiet, save for the occasional tourist aiming for a nostalgic selfie with a mural.

For now, Japan enters a rare panda winter—one without black ears peeking over bamboo shoots, without snaking queues through the zoo’s central courtyard, and without that peculiar mixture of civic pride and adorable obsession that defined Ueno for so long. It’s a reminder that international relations don’t always shift through speeches or economic charts. Sometimes, they move through bamboo forests and airport cargo holds. And sometimes, the absence of an animal says more about diplomacy than any communiqué ever could.

FAQs

1. Why are Japan’s last pandas returning to China?
Their loan period has ended, and under China’s panda diplomacy policy, all pandas, including cubs born abroad, must be returned for breeding.

2. Which pandas have left Japan and from where?
Twin pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, born at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo in 2021, have been sent to a conservation facility in China.

3. Why is this departure seen as politically significant?
The return coincides with heightened tensions between China and Japan, making the farewell symbolic in the wider context of strained relations.

4. Will Japan get new pandas in the future?
There is no confirmed plan. Requests from Tokyo have reportedly met uncertainty as bilateral ties remain sensitive.

5. Has Japan ever been without pandas before?
No, not since 1972, when pandas first arrived after the normalisation of China–Japan relations. This is the first panda-free period in over 50 years.