Fans in Japan jostle for final glimpse of China-bound twin pandas

Fans gathered at a Tokyo zoo on Sunday to bid farewell to the last two giant pandas in the country, long a symbol of Sino-Japanese friendship, two days before they leave for China.The departure of Xiao Xiao and his sister, Lei Lei, will leave Japan without any pandas for the first time since 1972, when China gifted a pair to Japan following the normalisation of bilateral ties.Prospects for a new panda loan by China remain uncertain amid soured ties following remarks last year by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting Japan could act in the event of an attack by Beijing on Taiwan.Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. While many nations, including the US, do not officially acknowledge Taiwan as an independent state, they oppose any use of force to alter the existing status quo.China has long used the giant panda as a tool of outreach and goodwill towards other nations in what is called its “panda diplomacy”.Visitors needed a prior reservation to see the pandas at the Ueno Zoological Gardens on Sunday, with 4,400 slots available and 24.6 times the number of people applying for them online, according to the Tokyo metropolitan government.Visitors line up to see giant pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on Sunday. Photo: AP