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Agence France-Presse

Thousands of thankful, sobbing fans flocked to a Tokyo zoo on Saturday to bid an emotional farewell to a pair of beloved pandas before their imminent return to China.
Sporting T-shirts, hats and sun umbrellas featuring the black and white bears, visitors shed tears, took selfies and eagerly waved at Ri Ri and Shin Shin on the panda couple’s penultimate day at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoological Gardens.
More than 2,000 panda lovers formed long queues outside the zoo on Saturday morning, some having spent the whole night there armed with picnic blankets and camping chairs.
Among the most committed was Mayuko Sumida, 44, who said she had arrived around 10pm the previous night, carrying with her panda-shaped key rings.
“I’m overwhelmed,” she said after admiring the two for the last time.
“They are the best duo that brings comfort and smiles to me.”
The mammals are immensely popular around the world, and China loans them out as part of a “panda diplomacy” programme to foster foreign ties.
The pandas Ri Ri and Shin Shin arrived at Ueno Zoo in 2011 and were due to stay until February 2026, but Japan and China agreed it would be better for the 19-year-olds to return to their home country in light of their declining health.
They will be transported back to China on Sunday.

On Saturday, strict crowd control measures were in place at the zoo to escort fans away after giving them just a few minutes to adore and photograph the pair through the glass.
Ri Ri and Shin Shin were “like the sun to me” and “always gave me emotional support”, Machiko Seki, who like other fans wore black to avoid window reflections ruining their pictures, said.
“When I look at their smiles, whatever worries me just goes away … I can’t be more grateful for them,” the woman in her 50s said, shedding tears.
The pair gave birth in 2017 to cub Xiang Xiang – the zoo’s first baby panda since 1988, who became a massive draw – as well as twins in 2021.
Many fans cried when Xiang Xiang was returned to China last year, and her departure was broadcast live on local television.

Michiyo Matoba, 61, has been coming to see Xiang Xiang’s parents almost every week.
“Ri Ri loves climbing trees so I hope he will enjoy those mountains of China as much as he likes, and the glutton Shin Shin will hopefully start eating to her heart’s content after regaining her health,” she said.
Despite the panda diplomacy, relations between the two countries have soured in recent years following Beijing’s growing maritime assertiveness.
Politics, Matoba said, doesn’t taint her love for the animals.
“Just like pandas, I hope Japan and China can be friends,” she said.
There are an estimated 1,860 giant pandas left in the wild, mainly in bamboo forests in the mountains of China, according to environmental group WWF.
There are about 600 in captivity in panda centres, zoos and wildlife parks around the world.


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Japan

Teary-eyed fans throng Tokyo zoo to bid farewell to China-bound pandas

Visitors watch the giant panda Shin Shin at Ueno zoo in Tokyo on Saturday. Photo: AP

A woman gets emotional after visiting the panda enclosure at Tokyo’s Ueno zoo on Saturday. Photo: AFP

Fans arrive on the last day of viewing to see two pandas before they are sent back to China. Photo: AFP

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Toshiko Kido on one of her trips to Peleliu to search for her grandfather’s remains. Photo: Julian Ryall

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Japanese official Yasuhiro Takami (left) speaks at the 5th Asian Defence and Security Exhibition in Pasay City on Thursday. Photo: Jeoffrey Maitem

Military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Tiananmen Square in 2019. Photo: Reuters

Japan bids tearful farewell to 4 pandas returning to China

Visitors flocked to Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo to catch a last glimpse of Xiang Xiang, who has been a massive draw for the park since her birth in 2017. Photo: AFP

People wait in line to look at the female giant panda Xiang Xiang ahead of her return to China. Photo: AFP

Xiang Xiang was initially set to head to China in 2021 but its departure was postponed multiple times due to travel restrictions linked to the pandemic. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

East Asia

‘Just like pandas, I hope Japan and China can be friends,’ said a visitor, who came to admire Ri Ri and Shin Shin at Ueno zoo


‘Just like pandas, I hope Japan and China can be friends,’ said a visitor, who came to admire Ri Ri and Shin Shin at Ueno zoo.


Pandas

China-Japan relations

Animals