• Beijing slams her remarks for threatening ‘political foundation of China-Japan relations’

ISTANBUL 

Japan on Tuesday was set to return its remaining twin giant pandas to China amid ongoing tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over Taiwan.

The departure of the two pandas will mark the first time in nearly half a century that the country will be without any pandas, which stood as a symbol of bilateral friendship between Japan and China.

On Tuesday afternoon, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei left Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo for Narita Airport to depart for China later at night. The pandas are expected to arrive in China on Wednesday.

The twin pandas were born at the Ueno zoo in 2021 to Shin Shin and Ri Ri, both of whom were on loan to Japan for breeding research, according to Kyodo News.

China retained ownership of them and the deadline for the twins' return approached under a bilateral lease agreement.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato expressed hopes that exchanges through pandas will continue and said “I hope they will stay healthy and thrive in China as well."

Separately, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Tuesday that regarding the departure of the pandas to China: “We, as always, welcome Japanese friends to come visit giant pandas in China.”

The first pair of giant pandas arrived in Japan from China in 1972 shortly after the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

- Japanese premier says Tokyo might take ‘joint action’ with US in Taiwan crisis

Amid the ongoing bilateral tensions, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday that Tokyo might take “joint action” with the US for rescuing their citizens in case of a crisis in Taiwan.

Takaichi said that her Taiwan remarks in November were “not about Japan going out and taking military action when China and the US clash,” according to the Japan Times.

“When something serious happens there, we have to go and rescue the Japanese and Americans in Taiwan. That means we might take joint action,” she said.

“Now, if the US military, acting jointly with us, comes under attack, and Japan does nothing and retreats, the Japan-US alliance would collapse,” she said.

In response to her remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday that “the Japanese side is in no position to interfere in the affairs of China’s Taiwan region.”

“The remarks by the Japanese side once again reveal the Japanese right-wing forces’ ambitions to provoke antagonism, make trouble, and take the opportunity to keep remilitarizing Japan and to challenge the post-war international order,” Guo said.

Takaichi's remarks have "severely threatened regional peace and stability and the political foundation of China-Japan relations,” Guo added.

China-Japan relations have deteriorated since November, when Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could legally constitute a “survival-threatening situation,” potentially allowing Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense.

The remarks prompted strong backlash from Beijing, which advised Chinese citizens against travel to Japan and reinstated a ban on Japanese seafood imports, among other measures.