Japan's last pandas to return to China in January

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Twin pandas at a Tokyo zoo are set to be returned to China in late January, leaving none in the country for the first time in around half a century.

Visitors gather to watch giant panda Xiao Xiao at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan, November 28, 2025. /VCG

The deadline for the return of Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, who have lived at Ueno Zoological Gardens since birth, is approaching in February under a bilateral lease agreement between Tokyo and Beijing.

Earlier this year, four pandas at a zoo in Wakayama Prefecture were also sent back to China, leaving only the twin pandas at Ueno in the country.

(Cover: Giant panda Lei Lei eats bamboo at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo, Japan, November 28, 2025. /VCG)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency