One day late last summer, a lively festival in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, celebrated the lovable panda.

The festivities, full of panda-themed events, including a dance competition for children to mimic the mammal’s cute moves, drew in 19,000 visitors.

An awards ceremony for a panda art contest was also held to commend the winners selected from among more than 2,000 paintings from both in and outside Ibaraki Prefecture.

But the "guest of honor" was nowhere to be found in the flesh.

The festival's nonprofit organization organizer, the Japan-China Friendship Association of Ibaraki, explained that the aim was to boost the prefecture’s efforts to bring in pandas from China.

“We may be the only prefecture that is so aggressive over the project, even though we don't have a panda yet,” said Takashi Kawazu, a prefectural assemblyman from the Liberal Democratic Party, who also serves as the vice chairman of the NPO. “Momentum in the local community is growing.”

Ibaraki Prefecture is moving to invite pandas to the Kamine Zoo in Hitachi.

Taking office in 2017, Ibaraki Governor Kazuhiko Oigawa has been committed to the endeavor to “re-energize the prefecture’s northern area.” Oigawa visited China last year.

As the prefectural government estimates pandas’ economic benefit at billions of yen (tens of millions of dollars), an Ibaraki official expressed high expectations, saying that the project can provide a major “catalyst for regional revitalization.”

Ibaraki is one of the many regional governments across Japan seeking to attract giant pandas under the banner of local revitalization.

Pandas are expected to produce a significant economic impact, and there appears to be no end to the number of regions seeking the rare bears.

The challenge lies in the lack of clear strategies to persuade China, which is believed to be shrewdly taking advantage of pandas for diplomatic purposes.

NO PANDAS ON THE HORIZON

Local governments nationwide are similarly working to lure in pandas.

Sendai city embarked on a project to invite pandas for providing “mental encouragement” to children affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. Akita city followed suit, too.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang agreed in 2018 to “proceed with negotiations to present new pandas” during their summit.

Following the agreement, officials in Shobara, Hiroshima Prefecture, proposed plans to promote Japan-China friendship via the animals.

A candidate in the mayoral election in Okinawa’s Nago has vowed to make every effort to bring pandas available there.

Many local governments want the bears due to the expected economic benefits.

An estimate by Katsuhiro Miyamoto, a professor emeritus of economics at Kansai University, shows that the pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei produced an economic ripple effect of as much as 30.8 billion yen ($211.2 million) for their one-year public display following their births in 2021 at the Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo.

After Ri Ri and Shin Shin were presented to the Ueno Zoological Gardens in 2011, there are no signs of Beijing shipping any additional pandas to Japan in sight.

PAST ACCEPTANCE OFFERS NO CLUES

How have recipient zoos in Japan succeeded in embracing pandas?

Kobe city-run Oji Zoo accepted a pair of pandas in 2000. Kobe said it had long deepened friendship with China’s Tianjin, resulting in zoological facilities in the cities signing a mutual animal exchange deal during the 1970s.

Kobe requested a panda lease in 1993, and the Chinese side reportedly approved it in 1998, three years after the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck the Kobe area.

Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, started caring for a panda in 1994.

The facility’s operator pointed to the abundant availability of bamboo for food, among other apparent reasons, behind its selection as a panda keeper.

However, the amusement park operator admitted it had “no idea about the decisive reason.”

The Ueno Zoological Gardens received two pandas for the first time in 1972 in commemoration of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China. A total of six later arrived or were born at the establishment.

One month after the last panda had died at the Ueno Zoological Gardens in April 2008, then Chinese President Hu Jintao reportedly announced a new panda lease during his visit to Japan.

“Our long history of looking after pandas was likely taken into account,” said a Tokyo representative. “However, the final decision lies with the Chinese side, and we know no details about the panda program.”

Devoted to inviting pandas, Ibaraki assemblyman Kawazu noticed the limitations to regional efforts.

“There is no straightforward way to go about it, leaving us at a loss over what to do to become successful,” said Kawazu. “Only the Japanese government can inspire the Chinese government. Private initiatives are important, but ultimately, what matters is politics.”

POSSIBLE REQUIREMENTS

Masaki Ienaga, a professor of Chinese politics at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, who has authored a book about Beijing’s panda diplomacy, stated that China initially sent pandas as gifts on particularly important diplomatic occasions.

Signing the Washington Convention agreement in the 1980s that regulates the international trade of endangered plants and animals, Beijing beefed up its panda protection activities. For now, China exclusively leases pandas to other countries for breeding research.

The objective of the so-called panda diplomacy is to support and promote pro-China sentiment in recipient nations. Improving the country’s image is likewise among its diplomatic aims.

With this in mind, Ienaga emphasized that there is “no guaranteed method to obtain pandas” for Japan’s central and local governments.

The three facilities in Japan that have successfully acquired pandas have yet to disclose their negotiation tactics or contracts, meaning that the details of the discussions remain shrouded in mystery.

Still, Ienaga believes that specific criteria must be met, including “historical intercity friendship,” “visits by senior officials” and “the potential for pandas to help foster a friendly environment.”