Tokyo zoo pandas due to leave Japan January 27, joining sister

Two hugely popular pandas at a Japanese zoo will depart on January 27 to join their sister in China, the Tokyo government and media said, leaving Japan panda-less for the first time in half a century.

Loaned out as part of China's "panda diplomacy" programme, the distinctive black-and-white animals have symbolised friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalisation of diplomatic ties in 1972.

Japan currently has only two pandas, Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, at Tokyo's Zoological Gardens in the Ueno neighbourhood.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which operates the Ueno Zoo, had previously said the last day for their public viewing would be Sunday.

The twins will then be flown out of Japan two days later, the Tokyo government said Monday.

They are slated to arrive January 28 at a facility in China housing their older sister, Xiang Xiang, Kyodo News agency said.

Many fans cried when Xiang Xiang left Ueno Zoo for China in 2023, and her departure was broadcast live on local television.

Ties between Asia's two largest economies are fast deteriorating after Japan's conservative premier Sanae Takaichi hinted that Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of any attack on Taiwan.

Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory. 

AFP