Overview
- Ueno Zoo confirmed that twin pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei will leave for China in late January under their loan agreement.
- Their departure will leave Japan without any giant pandas for the first time in more than 50 years, according to local coverage.
- On the first weekend after the announcement, visitors queued for hours as the zoo enforced timed entry and roughly one-minute viewing windows.
- The twins were born in Tokyo in 2021 but remain Chinese property under long-standing breeding terms that require mature cubs to return.
- Japanese officials report no progress on replacement talks as relations strain over Taiwan, while analysts and Chinese social media sentiment point to new loans being unlikely for now.