THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
December 15, 2025 at 14:48 JST
Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei celebrate their second birthday, eating their meals side by side at the Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo on June 23, 2023. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The twin giant pandas born at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo are scheduled to return to China in late January 2026, according to sources, which will leave Japan without pandas for the first time since 1972.
The male Xiao Xiao and female Lei Lei were born in 2021 and are currently the only pandas in the country. Despite Tokyo seeking to lease additional pandas from China, there appears to be little prospect for this succeeding.
Sources close to the Tokyo metropolitan government involved in the matter said, “It is impossible considering the current situation,” due to China strengthening its retaliatory stance following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark about a possible Taiwan contingency during a Diet session.
The twins’ departure will mark the first time there will be no pandas in Japan in about 50 years, breaking a streak that goes back to the two nations formalizing diplomatic ties.
Leasing giant pandas is part of joint research between Japan and China to protect the species.
Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei’s lease was originally set to expire at the end of February 2026. However, it was decided that the two will be returned a month earlier after continued discussions between the Tokyo metropolitan government and Chinese authorities; the Tokyo metropolitan government will soon announce the return timeline.
The pair will follow their parents, Ri Ri and Shin Shin, who returned to China in September 2024, and their older sister, Xiang Xiang, who returned in February 2023.
The Tokyo metropolitan government is seeking to lease another pair despite the political climate, but it is unlikely to happen before Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei’s departure.
Pandas came to Japan for the first time in 1972 when diplomatic relations were established between the two nations.
More than 30 pandas have been flown over from China or been born in Japan. This includes four pandas raised at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, who were sent back to China in June.
(This article was written by Naoki Nakayama and Ryo Yamagishi.)
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