Tokyo’s Panda Farewell Highlights Soft-Power Sensitivities in China–Japan Ties
Crowds flocked to Ueno Zoo to see the panda twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei before their planned return to China, leaving Japan without pandas for the first time since 1972. Although the move was planned, the source notes it is being viewed by some as reflecting recent strains in China–Japan relations amid heightened Taiwan-related rhetoric.