The impending return of four of the last six pandas in Japan to China this summer has sparked an outpouring of sorrow among animal lovers, alongside accusations that Beijing is wielding “panda politics” as a subtle form of diplomatic pressure on Tokyo.
Adventure World, a theme park in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, confirmed on April 24 that all four of its giant pandas would return to China in late June. Although the loan agreement for the pandas does not expire until August, their early return has been scheduled to avoid Japan’s sweltering summer heat.
The pandas’ impending departure triggered an outpouring of emotion on social media. “I almost cried watching the news,” one user wrote.
Television personality Matsuko Deluxe, appearing on the Tokyo MX channel, lamented the loss: “It’s sad. What kind of country does not have pandas? Koala bears are not enough. Isn’t having pandas like part of a country’s power?”
By next year, Japan could face the unthinkable: a future without pandas. The last two remaining pandas in the country – three-year-old siblings Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, currently living at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo – are scheduled to return to China when their loan agreement ends in February 2026.
Efforts by several Japanese zoos and government officials to secure replacement pandas from China have reportedly gone unanswered, fuelling speculation that the lack of response is more than a simple bureaucratic delay.
Visitors watch the female giant panda Shin Shin in Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, a day before her return to China last year. Photo: AP
AloJapan.com