Tokyo asks China if Xiang Xiang and parents can stay, as lease of pandas ends

Three-year-old Xiang Xiang and her parents, Ri Ri and Shin Shin, are set to leave Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo in the coming months

Xiang Xiang’s star power is such that the zoo has a daily ticketing system that allows 6,500 people to book a slot to catch a glimpse of her

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Xiang Xiang plays in her enclosure in December 2017. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:30pm, 19 Nov 2020Updated: 10:00am, 20 Nov 2020

Cute, clumsy and endlessly entertaining, giant pandas are by far the most popular animals at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoological Gardens – but there are growing concerns in Japan that their enclosures may soon be empty.

The zoo has three pandas, with the most popular being Xiang Xiang, born in June 2017. She was due to be returned to China last year, but the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which manages the zoo, was able to negotiate an extension of her stay.

That extension runs out in December, however. That leaves her parents, Ri Ri and Shin Shin, in Tokyo, but the 10-year leases on these pandas will also run out in February, potentially leaving Tokyo’s largest zoo without its favourite attraction.

Visitors queue up to see baby Xiang Xiang on June 12, 2017, the first day of her public debut at Ueno Zoological Gardens. Photo: Reuters

“The pandas are the most popular animals here – especially the cub,” said Kay Sato, a spokeswoman for the zoo. “We have always known that she will have to return to China this year as she is needed for breeding, but we are hoping that the adult pandas will be able to stay longer.”

A Tokyo government official said that negotiations were ongoing about extending the lease of Ri Ri and Shin Shin, both aged 15, for another five years. There was no statement on how those talks were progressing or how much such a deal would cost.