appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Kyodo

All four giant pandas on loan to a western Japan zoo left for China on Saturday, ahead of the expiration of their lease agreement.
The 24-year-old Rauhin and her offspring – Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin – left Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China’s Sichuan Province, according to the zoo operator.
Their departure means that only two giant pandas remain in Japan. Both are at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoological Gardens and are also due to return to China next February.
About 1,400 visitors queued at the park before it opened for their final public display on Friday, and some 3,000 people attended a farewell ceremony.

“It is sad that they leave Japan all at once. I wish for them to stay healthy in China,” said Chisato Noda from Nagoya.
“I want to visit China to see them. Maybe I’ll plan a trip,” said Yumi Yokoyama from Ageo, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo.
The pandas were last on display in outdoor enclosures in May. Over the past month, the public had been able to see them in isolated rooms where they were quarantined ahead of their travel.

Chinese government spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Friday that China and Japan have established “sound cooperation ties” through panda conservation and research.
“We stand ready to continue enhancing exchanges and cooperation with Japan and other partners in the world to jointly contribute to the protection of the endangered species,” he told a press conference in Beijing.
The Wakayama Prefecture Zoo began a joint breeding programme with the Chinese panda research base in 1994. It has successfully raised 17 cubs, the most outside China.
“The breeding project is finished for now, but we are willing to prepare to accept new pandas in future,” the zoo’s director, Koji Imazu said.


How one woman is rewriting kabuki’s ‘all-male’ narrative in Japan

Trevor Noah shows underline need for action in Hong Kong on scalping

Will the Trump-Xi wartime ally nostalgia prompt a Japanese rethink on China ties?

Trade deliverables, Taiwan push and ‘strategic stability’: key Xi-Trump takeaways overall

Japan

4 pandas leave Japan for China, leaving only 2 in the country

Giant panda Rauhin  at the Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Japan, on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

Giant pandas (clockwise from top) Rauhin, Yuihin, Fuhin and Saihin, at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture. Photo: Kyodo

Visitors and staff attended a farewell ceremony for four giant pandas on loan to Japan on their last day of public viewing at Adventure World on Friday. Photo: AP

Bear attacks surge in Japan but influencers willing to risk danger for social media fame

Two bears walk down the street in Shari town in Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. Photo: Shari Town Local Government/AFP

Screengrab from a dashcam camera as a bear runs across the road on June 17 in Hokkaido. Photo: Hokkaido Prefectural Police

Japanese diet linked to lower depression rates in workplace: study

A traditional Japanese diet which includes miso soup is good for depression, a study has shown. Photo: Getty Images. 

Two women wait for an early morning meal at one of the many small seafood restaurants at the Tsukiji fish market. Photo: AFP

Japan police uncover ‘online paedophile group’ of teachers

Japanese schoolchildren enjoying a field trip. Photo: Shutterstock 

Primary school pupils head for classes in Osaka, western Japan. Photo: Kyodo/AP

Is Japan on the decline? Pessimism as 7 in 10 polled say country’s stature waning

Pedestrians cross a road in Tokyo. Only two countries – France and Turkey – reported a higher share of respondents believing their nation is in decline. Photo: EPA-EFE

People crossing the street in Tokyo’s Shinjuku business and shopping district. Photo: EPA-EFE

Japan’s ‘sushi terrorism’ rolls on with condom prank at Tokyo eatery

Sushi at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. A wave of earlier “sushi terrorism” pranks triggered national debate in Japan about hygiene, etiquette and online fame. Photo: Shutterstock

This image, showing the unwrapped condom in the slot used to collect empty plates at a sushi restaurant, went viral after being posted to social media on March 28. Photo: X

4 pandas leave Japan for China, leaving only 2 in the country

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The remaining two giant pandas are also due to return to China next February

The remaining two giant pandas are also due to return to China next February