Two giant pandas that had lived at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, known as Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, departed for China on January 27, leaving Japan temporarily without resident pandas. At a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press briefing the same afternoon, spokesman Guo Jiakun confirmed the animals’ return under existing agreements and explicitly welcomed Japanese citizens to visit pandas in China.
Journalists at the briefing asked whether Japan’s loss of its last resident pandas would affect bilateral ties and what role the animals had played in promoting Sino‑Japanese relations. Guo reiterated that the departures were in line with bilateral arrangements and suggested that detailed questions be directed to the relevant Chinese authorities responsible for animal exchanges and conservation.
The move is procedural but symbolically salient. Giant pandas have long been a visible instrument of Beijing’s public diplomacy — prized ambassadors in cultural and conservation exchanges dating back decades — and their presence or absence in foreign zoos often carries outsized public resonance.
For Tokyo, the immediate effect will be at the level of public sentiment and zoo attendance: Ueno has relied on panda exhibits as a major draw and a soft link to China. For Beijing, the statement inviting Japanese visitors to see pandas on Chinese soil converts an otherwise routine repatriation into a modest public‑diplomacy gesture aimed at Japanese audiences and tourists.
The return also touches on conservation and scientific cooperation. Panda loans are typically governed by long‑term agreements that include research and breeding collaboration; how those arrangements evolve — whether new loan deals will be negotiated, or cooperation intensified on conservation science — will depend on interagency talks and the broader diplomatic climate.
Beyond zoos and tourists, the episode offers a small window into Sino‑Japanese relations more broadly: cultural exchanges endure even as political ties face strategic friction. How both capitals manage the narrative — and whether Tokyo seeks replacement animals or deeper conservation partnerships with Beijing — will signal whether this turns into a moment of rapprochement or merely a logistical handover.