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In Ueno, pandas have long been more than an insanely popular zoo attraction – they’re practically the neighbourhood’s unofficial mascots. From souvenir shops selling panda plushies and post boxes featuring panda faces to life-size statues scattered around Ueno and nearby Okachimachi, everything seems to revolve around these clumsy and lovable bamboo-eating furballs.
Unfortunately, the neighbourhood, Tokyo – and Japan as a whole – will soon be hit with a significant loss. The Asahi Shimbun reports that the two pandas at Ueno Zoo, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, are set to be returned to China later this month with no replacement in sight. Born at the zoo in 2021, the duo are the last remaining pandas in Japan; their parents, Li Li and Xin Xin, were returned to China in 2024.
Originally set for February 2026, the return date for Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei has been brought forward by a month. The move comes against the backdrop of diplomatic tensions between Japan and China, which were heightened following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks on Taiwan. The PM said that a Chinese naval blockade of Taiwan would threaten Japan’s ‘survival’ – suggesting that Japan could become involved in a potential China-Taiwan conflict.
Given the strained relations, the chances of new panda loans appear slim. Once Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei depart, Japan will be without pandas for the first time since 1972, when China gifted Ueno Zoo its first pair.
While reservations for in-person viewing have already closed, fans can still keep tabs on Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei via Ueno Zoo’s panda portal until they head ‘home’.
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