Japan's beloved last pandas leave for China as ties fray

Hundreds gathered to say farewell to two popular pandas departing Tokyo for China on Tuesday leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears for the first time in 50 years as ties between the Asian neighbours frayPanda twins Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao were transported by truck out of Ueno Zoological Gardens their birthplace disappointing many Japanese fans who have grown attached to the furry fouryearoldsIve been coming to watch them since they were born Nene Hashino a woman in her 40s wearing a pandathemed jacket and clutching a bear stuffed toy told AFP It feels like my own children are going somewhere far away Its sadThe pandas abrupt return was announced last month during a diplomatic spat that began when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hinted that Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of an attack on Taiwan Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing which regards the island as its own territoryThe distinctive blackandwhite animals loaned out as part of Chinas panda diplomacy programme have symbolised friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since they normalised ties in 1972 Their repatriation comes a month before their loan period expires in February according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government which operates Ueno ZooJapan has reportedly been seeking the loan of a new pair of pandas However a weekend poll by the liberal Asahi Shimbun newspaper showed that 70 percent of those surveyed do not think the government should negotiate with China on the lease of new pandas while 26 percent would like them toOn Sunday Ueno Zoo invited some 4400 lucky winners of an online lottery to see the pandas for the last timeIts so sadWellwishers wearing pandathemed clothes hats and badges waited for hours on the streets lining the zoo two days later to say their final goodbyes They called out to the animals as the windowless truck left the gatesIts so sad said Daisaku Hirota a 37yearold shop worker who said he tried to visit the pandas as often as he could on his days off I lost one part of my heart he saidLei Lei and Xiao Xiao were delivered in 2021 by their mother Shin Shin who arrived in 2011 and was returned to China in 2024 because of declining health China has discouraged its nationals from travelling to Japan citing deteriorating public security and criminal acts against Chinese nationals in the country Beijing is reportedly also choking off exports to Japan of rareearth products crucial for making everything from electric cars to missilesHowever China routinely removes pandas from foreign countries and the latest move may not be politically motivated said Masaki Ienaga a professor at Tokyo Womans Christian University and an expert in East Asian international relations If you talk about Chinese politics the timing of sending pandas is what counts and pandas could return to Japan if bilateral ties warm Ienaga saidOther countries use animals as tools of diplomacy including Thailand with its elephants and Australia with its koalas he added But pandas are special Ienaga said They have strong customerdrawing power and they can earn moneyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever