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Thousands gather in Japan to say goodbye to last giant pandas
(MENAFN) Thousands of visitors gathered at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo on Sunday to bid farewell to Japan’s last two giant pandas, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, who are scheduled to return to China on Tuesday.
Emotions were high as people waited in lines of up to three-and-a-half hours to see the twin cubs one final time.
The farewell comes during a period of strained relations between Tokyo and Beijing, following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s warning that Japan would intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan.
The twins’ departure will leave Japan panda-free for the first time since 1972, when the two countries normalised diplomatic ties. China has long used giant pandas as a symbol of goodwill, but retains ownership of all pandas it loans abroad, including cubs born overseas.
Host nations pay around $1 million (£790,000) annually for a pair.
According to Tokyo’s metropolitan government, roughly 108,000 people applied for one of the 4,400 available slots to see the pandas before they left.
"I have been bringing my son here since he was a baby, so I hope it becomes a good memory for him. I'm glad we could come today to remember them," one visitor told a news outlet.
Emotions were high as people waited in lines of up to three-and-a-half hours to see the twin cubs one final time.
The farewell comes during a period of strained relations between Tokyo and Beijing, following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s warning that Japan would intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan.
The twins’ departure will leave Japan panda-free for the first time since 1972, when the two countries normalised diplomatic ties. China has long used giant pandas as a symbol of goodwill, but retains ownership of all pandas it loans abroad, including cubs born overseas.
Host nations pay around $1 million (£790,000) annually for a pair.
According to Tokyo’s metropolitan government, roughly 108,000 people applied for one of the 4,400 available slots to see the pandas before they left.
"I have been bringing my son here since he was a baby, so I hope it becomes a good memory for him. I'm glad we could come today to remember them," one visitor told a news outlet.
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