TOKYO - The last remaining two giant pandas in Japan on Tuesday left Tokyo's Ueno zoo for their return to China, marking the first time that there will be no pandas in Japan in around half a century.

The twin pandas, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, were transported by truck from the Ueno Zoological Gardens to Narita Airport, where they were scheduled to board a flight back to China.

Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei were born in 2021 to their mother Shin Shin and her mate, Ri Ri, which were returned to China in September 2024. Their elder sister, celebrity giant panda Xiang Xiang, returned to China in February 2023.

Under a prior agreement between China and Japan, the Ueno zoo pair were scheduled to be returned by February 2026. Japanese media earlier reported that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government consulted with the Chinese side on the specific date and agreed to move the return forward by about one month.

In the days leading up to their departure, Ueno zoo saw an influx of visitors to bid farewell to the giant pandas. From Jan. 14, the zoo introduced a combined reservation-and-lottery system, offering about 4,400 slots per day for visitors wishing to see the twin pandas.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun, around 311,500 people applied for the zoo's slots, and reservations for the final public viewing on Jan. 25 reached 24.6 times the permitted capacity.

Despite failing to secure lottery slots to see the pandas, many Japanese fans still went to Ueno zoo to bid farewell to Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei on the last day for public viewing.

Mikako Kaneko, deputy director of the Ueno zoo, said she was deeply grateful to all those who had followed the pandas and supported their growth over the years.

In June last year, four giant pandas at a zoo in Wakayama Prefecture were also sent back to China. Following Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei's departure, there will be no giant pandas in Japan for the first time since two arrived in 1972 to commemorate the normalization of diplomatic ties between the countries.