China News Service, March 27. According to Kyodo News, Japan’s Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced on the 26th that the deadline for returning the 3-year-old female giant panda "Xiangxiang" born in Ueno Zoo to China was postponed again from May 31st. December 31.
This is the second time that the return of "Xiang Xiang" to China has been postponed.
According to previous reports, "Xiangxiang" was born on June 12, 2017. It is the result of natural mating between male giant panda "Lili" and female giant panda "Zhenzhen".
Since its debut, it has been loved by local people and has a large number of "fans".
On June 23, 2020, local time, on the first day of the reopening of Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan, tourists visited the female giant panda "Xiang Xiang".
"Xiang Xiang" was originally scheduled to return to China when he reached the age of two, but due to its high popularity in Japan, after discussions between China and Japan, they decided to extend the lease period to the end of 2020.
But afterwards, affected by the epidemic, the return date was postponed to May 31 this year.
The head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government stated: "For the protection and breeding of the pandas, we hope to return it. Coordination will be launched towards the next deadline.
To prevent the spread of the epidemic, Ueno Zoo is currently closed.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said in an interview with the Metropolitan Government that in order to see Xiang Xiang as soon as possible, he hopes that everyone will continue to cooperate and demand thorough measures against the new crown epidemic.