Tokyo Ueno Zoo’s twin pandas to be returned to China, leaving Japan with none for 1st time since 1972

December 15, 2025

TOKYO – Twin giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Taito Ward, Tokyo, will be returned to China in late January next year, it has been learned.

The two 4-year-old bears are currently the only pandas kept in Japan, and there are no prospects for new loans.

When the animals are returned, Japan will be without any pandas for the first time since 1972, when Kang Kang and Lan Lan were welcomed as gifts from China to celebrate the normalization of diplomatic relations.