Japan bids farewell to pandas as row with China deepens

Japan may soon find itself without any giant pandas for the first time in over 50 years, due to increasing diplomatic tensions with China. This situation casts a shadow over Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, famous for its panda enclosure.

Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, Ueno Zoo residents, are scheduled to return to China in January 2026. These pandas are part of Beijing's “panda diplomacy” program, where the animals are loaned to other countries as a symbol of friendship and positive relations. Although their departure was scheduled, there are currently no plans for replacements due to the strained relationship between Japan and China.

The potential absence of pandas in Japan would worsen a diplomatic dispute that began in November. At that time, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi discussed possible Japanese military involvement if conflict arose in the Taiwan Strait. Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have since reached their lowest point in years.

Recently, visitors to Ueno Zoo have waited in long lines for a brief chance to see the pandas, who were born in Tokyo in 2021. Tickets are now being sold through a lottery system.

Emi Iemura, a visitor buying a “Thank you Xiao Xiao” T-shirt, expressed sadness at the pandas' departure. She added, “The really sad thing would be if China never gives us any more from now on… We all hope that things calm down.”

Since 1972, China has consistently loaned pandas to Japan, a practice that has persisted through various diplomatic challenges. When questioned about renewing the panda lease, China’s foreign ministry directed reporters to “the competent authorities.”

That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. in April, prior to the current tensions, the ministry responded to similar inquiries by stating, “We welcome Japan’s continuous interest in international co-operation on giant panda conservation” and that “the two countries maintain close communication on relevant co-operation.”

The Communist party’s Global Times quoted a Chinese scholar who stated the potential panda-less situation in Japan could be linked to “Japanese side’s erroneous words and deeds.”

Since the diplomatic row began, Beijing has cautioned its citizens against traveling to Japan. Tokyo has also accused the Chinese military of engaging in dangerous activities in international waters. Officials and foreign diplomats in Tokyo anticipate that this dispute will continue into 2026.

Joint military exercises conducted by China and Russia near Japan, along with Chinese fighter jets locking radars on Japanese planes, have further strained relations.

China has also announced sanctions against Shigeru Iwasaki, former chief of the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, for his advisory role with Taiwan’s government. Iwasaki, a former F-15 fighter pilot, has frequently visited Taiwan and has been involved in Japan’s cybersecurity defense efforts since retiring from the military.

While China has reinstated restrictions on seafood imports from Japan, broader economic actions have been limited. Trade between the two countries has remained relatively stable this year. In the first 11 months of 2025, China’s imports from Japan increased by 5.8 percent compared to the previous year, while its exports to Japan rose by 3.4 percent. November saw similar trends, with imports from Japan increasing by 6.8 percent year-on-year and exports rising by 4.3 percent, indicating minimal impact from the ongoing dispute.

One anonymous Japanese MP suggested that panda diplomacy could offer a path to de-escalate the situation. “If, in a few months time, China says it will lend Japan another panda, that would be an easy way for everything to calm back down,” the MP stated.