"The twin pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei received visits from hordes of fans at their zoo home in Tokyo on Sunday ahead of their return to China at the end of the month, which comes as strained Japanese-Chinese ties make it unlikely that they will be replaced any time soon. Their departure will leave Japan without the cuddly black-and-white animals for the first time since 1972, when China presented the country with two pandas, Kang Kang and Lan Lan, as a gift intended to mark the normalization of bilateral diplomatic ties."
"Thousands applied for lottery-assigned tickets to say goodbye to the 4-year-old twins, with those who won a place allowed one-minute windows to see the bears. But even people who did not manage to pay a personal visit to the animals came to the zoo to pay their respects from a distance. One long-time panda visitor at the zoo, 54-year-old finance-sector worker Machiko Seki, told Reuters news agency that "the pandas have given me so much energy, courage, healing," adding: "I wanted to come today to express my gratitude.""
"According to Katsuhiro Miyamoto, an economics professor at Kansai University, the absence of pandas at the zoo will cause an annual loss of about 20 billion yen (108.24 million; $128 million). "If the situation continues for several years, the negative economic impact of having no pandas is expected to reach tens of billions of yen, Miyamoto said in a statement. "For panda-loving Japanese, including myself, I hope they return as soon as possible.""
Twin pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei received farewell visits from crowds at their Tokyo zoo ahead of their scheduled return to China at the end of the month. Their departure will leave Japan without pandas for the first time since 1972, when China gifted two pandas to mark the normalization of diplomatic ties. Thousands entered a lottery for brief one-minute viewing slots while many others visited to pay respects from a distance. Regular visitors described emotional benefits and gratitude toward the pandas. Economists warn the absence could reduce annual revenues by about 20 billion yen, with larger losses if the gap persists.
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