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Japan's past brace of pandas person returned to China, leaving Japan without the lovable bears for the archetypal clip successful fractional a century.
The bears are heading backmost arsenic diplomatic relations betwixt the 2 countries are astatine their lowest constituent successful years implicit the caller Japanese Prime Minister's stance connected Taiwan, an land Beijing claims arsenic its own, making it improbable that determination volition beryllium replacement bears.
The twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei person an adoring instrumentality basal successful Japan, wherever thousands of radical flocked to Tokyo's Ueno Zoo up of their departure.
China archetypal sent pandas to Japan successful 1972, a acquisition meant to people the normalisation of diplomatic ties betwixt the 2 neighbours. Beijing has agelong utilized the bears arsenic a diplomatic tool: a motion of goodwill and an hold of the country's brushed power, and 1 that it tin retract erstwhile bilateral relationships crook adversarial.
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Images from authorities broadcaster CCTV showed the 2 pandas, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, arriving successful crates successful southwestern China's Sichuan province, wherever they volition enactment successful quarantine astatine the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda.
The pandas arrived safely aboriginal Wednesday (January 27, 2026) morning, the conservation centre said successful a statement.
Xiao Xiao and his sister Lei Lei were calved successful Tokyo's Ueno Zoo successful 2021. While Beijing lends pandas to different countries, it maintains ownership implicit the animals, including caller cubs.
