Beijing, Jan 21 (PTI) Twin pandas loved by the Japanese public are due to be sent back to their Chinese habitat next week amid the Beijing-Tokyo diplomatic spat, even as China on Wednesday hinted that it is unlikely to send replacements. Based on the agreement between China and Japan, giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, living in Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, will return to China as scheduled before February, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a media briefing here.
“I know giant pandas are loved by many in Japan, and we welcome Japanese friends to come visit them in China”, he said in apparent indication that Beijing, which is angry over remarks on Taiwan by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, will unlikely send any replacements.
With two fluffy bears to be repatriated to China, Japan may have to be without its much-loved pandas for the first time since 1972.
The twin pandas at a zoo in Tokyo will depart for China on January 27, the Tokyo government announced on Monday, marking for the first time in about half a century that Japan will be without any pandas — long viewed as a symbol of Japan-Sino friendship. Xiao Xiao and his sister, Lei Lei, will be transported from the Ueno Zoological Gardens and will arrive at a facility in China housing their elder sister, Xiang Xiang, on January 28, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported. Online applications to view Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei have already closed, with demand for the final viewing day on Sunday reaching 24.6 times the available slots.
The twin pandas were born in 2021 to their mother Shin Shin and her mate, Ri Ri, both of whom were on loan to Japan for breeding research. Ownership of the cubs was left with China despite their birth in Japan.
Since the first pair of giant pandas arrived in Japan from China in 1972 to commemorate the normalisation of diplomatic ties, the iconic bears have won the hearts of many in Japan and brought economic benefits as tourist attractions. However, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei became casualties of the escalating war of words between Beijing and Tokyo over Takaichi’s remarks in parliament on November 7 that a Taiwan contingency could be a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan that may lead to action from the country’s defence forces in support of the United States.
Her remarks angered China, as it regards Taiwan as part of its territory and insists that the Taiwan issue is purely an “internal affair”, and demanded that Takaichi retract her statement.
In view of this, prospects for another panda loan, seen as a diplomatic symbol of friendship between Japan and China, remain uncertain amid the deteriorating relationship, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported earlier.
China has long used the giant panda as a tool of diplomatic outreach and goodwill toward various nations.
Under its “panda diplomacy,” Beijing provided Pandas to about 20 countries around the world, for a specific period under the care of Chinese breeders in animal parks for public viewing.
The panda lease also involves significant annual fees for conservation and requires offspring to return to China. Zoos housing pandas have to pay China an annual fee of around USD a million for conservation, according to reports.
Under the lease agreement, the ownership of the pandas remains with China, and the cubs born abroad must be returned to their homeland. PTI KJV RD RD
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.