Wakayama, May 23, 2025 (News On Japan) - All four giant pandas at Adventure World in Wakayama Prefecture will be returned to China on June 28th, the park announced. The pandas—Rauhin, born in 2000, and her three daughters Yuihin, Saihin, and Fuhin—will be sent back as the breeding and loan agreement with China nears its end this August.
The decision to return the pandas had already been made in light of the contract’s expiration, but the specific date of departure had drawn considerable attention. In preparation for the return, the four pandas will be displayed behind glass starting on May 26th to undergo the required quarantine process.
A farewell ceremony is scheduled at Adventure World on June 27th, one day before their return. Once the four pandas leave, only two giant pandas will remain in Japan—those housed at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.
The return of the four giant pandas from Adventure World in Wakayama Prefecture marks the end of a decades-long chapter in Japan's cultural and diplomatic relationship with China. Rauhin, the oldest among them, was born in 2000 and became the first panda to be successfully bred and born at the facility, ushering in a new era of domestic panda conservation. Over the years, Rauhin gave birth to multiple cubs, several of which have already been returned to China in accordance with the terms of Japan's panda loan agreements. Her daughters—Yuihin, Saihin, and Fuhin—are all products of this breeding program, symbolizing both scientific achievement and the growing popularity of pandas as ambassadors of goodwill between the two countries.
The decision to return these four pandas is tied directly to the expiration of the long-term breeding loan contract between Adventure World and the Chinese government, which formally ends this August. Under the terms of the agreement, pandas born abroad remain the property of China and must eventually be returned for breeding and conservation purposes. These arrangements are part of China's broader panda diplomacy strategy, which dates back to the 1970s when China began loaning pandas to other countries as a symbol of friendship and soft power. In recent decades, the strategy has shifted from one of gifting pandas to long-term loans that emphasize cooperative research and conservation goals. For Japan, hosting pandas has played an important role in strengthening bilateral ties while also drawing millions of visitors to zoos and conservation parks.
In recent years, Chinese authorities have become more insistent on the timely return of pandas born overseas, especially as global demand for pandas increases and China's conservation efforts become more centralized. Although Adventure World had hoped to retain some of the pandas longer, the terms of the agreement and the expiration timeline left little room for negotiation. Additionally, with each return, China is able to reintroduce genetically valuable individuals into its breeding pool, which is seen as essential for maintaining genetic diversity among the relatively small global panda population.
Source: KTV NEWS
