(ECNS) - Japan will face having no giant pandas to show its visitors when the last two, Xiaoxiao and Leilei, at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo are scheduled to return to China in February next year, according to media reports.

The twin pandas were born at the zoo in 2021. Their parents are Ri Ri and Shin Shin, who left Tokyo's Ueno Zoo in September 2024 due to age-related health concerns.

Chen Yang, a visiting professor at Liaoning University's Institute of Japan Studies, noted that if current tensions between China and Japan continue, Beijing may decide not to lease new pandas to Japan. In that case, Japan could be left without any giant pandas for an extended period.

(By Zhang Jiahao)