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Japan’s last 2 giant pandas set for early trip home to China as tensions spiral

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Josephine MaJanuary 20, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Japan’s last 2 giant pandas set for early trip home to China as tensions spiral
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The last two giant pandas in Japan, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, are scheduled to leave for China on January 27, one month ahead of schedule. This marks the first time in about half a century that Japan will be without any pandas. The twins were born at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo and were originally set to return in February. However, due to worsening bilateral tensions between Japan and China, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced an early departure. The pandas are technically "loans" from China and destined for return, but no new pandas have been agreed upon. The announcement drew a large crowd to the zoo, with some visitors waiting up to six hours to view the pair before their departure.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context
Asahi Shimbun 40% NHK 40% Ueno Zoo 50% Tokyo 60% Tokyo Metropolitan Government 60% Lei Lei 70% Xiao Xiao 70% China ×490% Japan ×590%

Keywords

giant pandas 100% china 90% japan 90% bilateral tensions 80% ueno zoo 70% loans 60% tokyo metropolitan government 50% diplomatic relations 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative
Score: -0.20

Source Transparency

Source
South China Morning Post
Political Lean
Center-Right (0.50)
Far LeftCenterFar Right
Classification Confidence
90%
Geographic Perspective
Japan

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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giant pandaschinajapanbilateral tensionsueno zooloanstokyo metropolitan governmentdiplomatic relations
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