News in Easy English: Panda loan plan stops after Japan-China ties get worse
TOKYO -- In August 2024, Toshihiro Nikai went to Beijing. Nikai was the former secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party. He was al
In August 2024, Toshihiro Nikai, a former secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, journeyed to Beijing, China. Nikai led the cross-party Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians Union, a group that had not visited China in around five years. They met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss a new loan of giant pandas. Pandas symbolize friendship between Japan and China. Wang Yi expressed confidence in the arrangement, saying, "It will be fine. Leave it to me."
The plan was to send the pandas to Wakayama Prefecture, where Japanese government officials believed China intended to discuss the loan at a proposed Japan-China-South Korea summit. This summit was initially scheduled to take place in Japan in 2025, but it was postponed. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was dismissed from office in December 2024 after declaring martial law.
Following this, Japan's Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, announced his resignation in September 2025. The three nations subsequently collaborated to hold the summit in January 2026. However, by November 2025, the relationship between Japan and China deteriorated rapidly. China subsequently declared it would not consent to the three-country summit.
Consequently, the panda loan plan was discontinued. In January 2026, the last two pandas originally sent to Japan were returned to China. A Japanese official explained, "Now, not even the first syllable of 'panda' is mentioned in talks with China."
Written by urgent.news from The Mainichi's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
