Overview
- Tokyo officials say twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei will travel from Ueno Zoo to Narita for a Jan. 27 flight and arrive in China on Jan. 28 to join their sister Xiang Xiang.
- Their exit will leave Japan without any giant pandas for the first time in about half a century since the animals first arrived after the 1972 normalization of ties.
- Born in 2021 to Shin Shin and Ri Ri, the twins are returning under China’s loan program, which retains ownership of pandas born overseas.
- The Ueno pair became Japan’s last pandas after four at Adventure World in Wakayama Prefecture were sent back to China in June 2025.
- Public demand for final viewings far exceeded capacity, while media and officials report uncertainty over future loans following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan.