TOKYO: Panda lovers in Tokyo said goodbye on Sunday to a hugely popular pair of the bears that are set to return to China, leaving Japan without the beloved animals for the first time in half a century. Loaned out as part of China’s “panda diplomacy” program, the distinctive black-and-white animals have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972. Some visitors at Ueno Zoological Gardens were left teary-eyed as they watched Japan’s only two pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao munch on bamboo.

The departure of pandas will leave legions of Japanese admirers bereft, but it is also symptomatic of a dramatic deterioration in China-Japan relations

Seit 1972 verleiht China Riesenpandas nach Japan. Jetzt soll die Panda-Diplomatie vorbei sein – und die beiden letzten Riesenpandas den Zoo in Tokio verlassen. Die Menschen stehen…