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Nikkei Asia
10-07-2025
- Nikkei Asia
Panda diplomacy softens sharp edge of China's foreign policy
A panda at the Adventure World amusement park in Japan. The facility's four pandas returned to China at the end of June. © Kyodo YUKIO TAJIMA BEIJING -- When all four of the pandas at Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Japan, were sent back to China, the local community was overwhelmed with a sense of "panda loss." It was late June when the pandas left the park in Wakayama prefecture, heading home to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's southwestern province of Sichuan. About a week before the pandas returned, the facility was bustling with tourists.


Kyodo News
29-06-2025
- Kyodo News
All 4 pandas at west Japan zoo depart for China, 2 remain in country
KYODO NEWS - 20 hours ago - 18:15 | Japan, All, World All four giant pandas on loan at a western Japan zoo departed the country for China on Saturday, leaving just two of the animals in Japan. Rauhin, a 24-year-old female, and her offspring -- Yuihin, 8, Saihin, 6, and Fuhin, 4 -- were loaded onto a charter flight that took off from Kansai International Airport at around 3 p.m. They are headed to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's Sichuan Province. The lease agreement for the four was set to expire in August. Japan's two remaining giant pandas, Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, are at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens and are due to return to China by next February. Some 300 people including zoo staff and director Koji Imazu saw the pandas off in the morning at Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, as they left on two trucks. Zookeeper Yuka Nakaya said the four were "healthy this morning, and preparations proceeded smoothly." On Friday ahead of their departure, some 1,400 visitors had queued at the park before it opened for their final public display, with about 3,000 people attending a farewell ceremony. "It is sad that they leave Japan all at once. I wish for them to stay healthy in China," said Chisato Noda from Nagoya. "I want to visit China to see them. Maybe I'll plan a trip," said Yumi Yokoyama from Ageo, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo. The pandas were last on display in outdoor enclosures in May. Over the past month, the public had been able to see them in isolated rooms where they were quarantined ahead of their travel. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Friday that China and Japan have established "sound cooperation ties" through panda conservation and research. "We stand ready to continue enhancing exchanges and cooperation with Japan and other partners in the world to jointly contribute to the protection of the endangered species," he told a press conference in Beijing. The Wakayama Prefecture zoo began a joint breeding program with the Chinese panda research base in 1994. It has successfully raised 17 cubs, the most outside China. "The breeding project is finished for now, but we are willing to prepare to accept new pandas in future," zoo director Imazu said Friday. Related coverage: FOCUS: China's "panda diplomacy" in focus as zero moment may come in Japan All 4 giant pandas at western Japan zoo to return to China in June Giant panda Eimei dies in China after repatriation from Japan


Kyodo News
28-06-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: June 28, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 4 hours ago - 15:00 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan wrestling with U.S. tariff talks as July deadline looms WASHINGTON - Japanese and U.S. tariff negotiators agreed Friday to continue talks in pursuit of a deal that will be beneficial to both countries, but significant differences apparently remain in areas such as Washington's treatment of its key Asian ally's automotive industry. Japan's government said its top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held talks in Washington, with each side reaffirming its position during "fruitful" discussions on trade expansion, nontariff measures and economic security cooperation ---------- EU proposes global eel trade curbs despite Japan's opposition BRUSSELS - The European Union on Friday submitted a proposal to impose export restrictions on all eel species under an international treaty regulating endangered species trade, despite strong opposition from Japan. If adopted at the conference of the parties to the Washington Convention in Uzbekistan later this year, the proposal, set to take effect in June 2027, would require proof of legal capture and an export permit issued by the exporting country for Japanese eel and other species. ---------- All 4 pandas at west Japan zoo depart for China, leaves 2 in country WAKAYAMA, Japan - All four giant pandas on loan to a western Japan zoo left for China on Saturday, ahead of the expiration of their lease agreement. The 24-year-old Rauhin and her offspring -- Yuihin, 8, Saihin, 6, and Fuhin, 4 -- left Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's Sichuan Province, according to the zoo operator. ---------- Nobel committee chair to visit Hiroshima, Nagasaki in July TOKYO - Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, will visit the atomic-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki next month and may meet with atomic bomb survivors, a source close to the matter said Friday. Frydnes will arrive in Hiroshima on July 21 and later head to Nagasaki, likely visiting memorial museums and other sites related to the bombings, according to the source. ---------- Japanese diet may help in fight against depression, study shows TOKYO - The rate of depressive symptoms was lower among working-age people who consume a Japanese-style diet including rice, miso soup and fish, the first study of its kind recently showed. The Japan Institute for Health Security assessed the benefits of a traditional "Japanese-style diet" comprising of soy products, cooked vegetables, mushrooms, fish, seaweed, and green tea, along with a modified version that added fruit, fresh vegetables and dairy products. ---------- New giant slide in southwest Japan closed after 4 people break bones KITAKYUSHU, Japan - A newly opened giant slide in southwestern Japan has been closed after four people sustained broken bones while using it, the local government said Friday. The 30-meter slide at the top of Mt. Sarakura in Kitakyushu, a popular nightscape spot, opened to the public on April 25, but a tourist from Taiwan in her 30s broke her shin on May 28 while using it. ---------- Century-old former Russian Consulate in Hokkaido reborn as hotel HAKODATE, Japan - The former Russian Consulate in Hakodate, Hokkaido, built in 1908 by the Russian Empire and featured in the popular manga "Golden Kamuy," will reopen as a luxury hotel in July after remaining vacant for nearly 30 years. The redbrick building, perched on a hill with sweeping views of Hakodate Port, has been reborn as Hotel Biaclyn Hakodate, a six-suite wellness retreat featuring a blend of Western architecture and Japanese design. ---------- Football: Nadeshiko Japan beaten 3-1 by Spain in friendly LEGANES, Spain - Japan took the lead but went down 3-1 away to a dominant Spain in a women's football international friendly on Friday, their third straight defeat in a month. Nadeshiko Japan won the SheBelieves Cup with three straight victories in February as their Danish manager Nils Nielsen, the first foreigner to lead the side, got his tenure off to a strong start. But a draw with Colombia at home in April and two losses to Brazil since late May have stalled momentum. Video: Tokio's Masahiro Matsuoka apologizes for the pop group's split


Nikkei Asia
28-06-2025
- Nikkei Asia
All four pandas at west Japan zoo depart for China
Giant panda Rauhin chews bamboo at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, on June 27. (Photo by Kosaku Mimura) WAKAYAMA, Japan (Kyodo) -- All four giant pandas on loan at a western Japan zoo departed the country for China on Saturday, leaving just two of the animals in Japan. Rauhin, a 24-year-old female, and her offspring -- Yuihin, 8, Saihin, 6, and Fuhin, 4 -- were loaded onto a charter flight that took off from Kansai International Airport at around 3 p.m. They are headed to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's Sichuan Province. The lease agreement for the four was set to expire in August. Japan's two remaining giant pandas, Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao, are at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens and are due to return to China by next February.

Barnama
28-06-2025
- Barnama
All 4 Pandas At West Japan Zoo Depart For China, Leaves 2 In Country
Giant panda Rauhin is pictured on June 27, 2025, on the final day of her public display at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture. (Photo Credit Kyodo) WAKAYAMA (Japan), June 28 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- All four giant pandas on loan to a western Japan zoo left for China on Saturday, ahead of the expiration of their lease agreement, Kyodo News Agency reported. The 24-year-old Rauhin and her offspring -- Yuihin, 8, Saihin, 6, and Fuhin, 4 -- left Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, for the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China's Sichuan Province, according to the zoo operator. Their departure means that only two giant pandas remain in Japan. Both are at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens and are also due to return to China next February. bootstrap slideshow About 1,400 visitors queued at the park before it opened for their final public display on Friday, and some 3,000 people attended a farewell ceremony. "It is sad that they leave Japan all at once. I wish for them to stay healthy in China," said Chisato Noda from Nagoya. "I want to visit China to see them. Maybe I'll plan a trip," said Yumi Yokoyama from Ageo, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo. The pandas were last on display in outdoor enclosures in May. Over the past month, the public had been able to see them in isolated rooms where they were quarantined ahead of their travel. Chinese government spokesman Guo Jiakun said Friday that China and Japan have established "sound cooperation ties" through panda conservation and research. "We stand ready to continue enhancing exchanges and cooperation with Japan and other partners in the world to jointly contribute to the protection of the endangered species," he told a press conference in Beijing.