Japan's two remaining giant pandas -- twins Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao -- will return to China in January, leaving none for the first time since 1972, when China gifted a pair to Japan following the normalization of bilateral ties after World War II. Kang Kang and Lan Lan, the first giant pandas to arrive in Japan, helped draw a record 7,640,000 visitors in 1974, according to Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo. Ueno Zoo's pandas sparked a craze across the country and the emergence of a panda-loving generation of Japanese, leading to panda loans to other facilities such as Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, and Oji Zoo, in Kobe.
Published at: 2025-12-29 21:29:37
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