Japan’s Separation Anxiety Over Pandas and China
From the cuddly animals to technology transfers, Beijing has been calling the shots. It’s an uneven relationship that needs rebalancing.
Xiang Xiang before her return to China.
Photographer: Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty Images
Many Japanese businesses have a China problem. Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo has a bigger one than most.
Last month, it bid farewell to Xiang Xiang, the panda born in the capital in 2017 that became a national sensation. TV stations sent breaking news alerts; one national paper published an extra edition when she was named. But due to an agreement that requires all baby pandas to return to their native land, Xiang Xiang, who according to one estimate had an economic impact of more than $459 million, is now back in her homeland, following years of delays due to Covid.