Panda enthusiasts flocked to Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo on Sunday to bid farewell to its star residents, four-year-old twin pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, who will be returned to China at the end of the month. Their departure leaves Japan without pandas for the first time since 1972, prompting thousands to apply for lottery-assigned tickets.
“I’ve been visiting since Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei’s parents were here,” said 54-year-old finance worker Machiko Seki. “It feels like the end of a family story.”
Although the pandas’ return has long been planned, their absence comes amid rising tensions between China and Japan. In November, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a Japanese military response, drawing sharp criticism from Beijing, which claims sovereignty over the democratically-governed island.
Political issues, however, were far from visitors’ minds on Sunday, as each was given a one-minute window to see the bears.
“The pandas have given me so much—energy, courage, healing,” Seki said. “I wanted to come today to show my gratitude.”
Even those who didn’t win tickets made the journey. “I didn’t win the lottery to see the pandas today, so I can’t see them in person,” said 49-year-old housewife Akiko Kawakami. “But I came just to breathe the same air as them.”
