SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Japanese panda fans gathered Sunday for the final public viewing at Tokyo's Ueno zoo beforetwins Xiao Xiao and Lei Leireturn to China.
Their departure on Tuesday will leave Japan with no pandas for the first time in half a century, and the chances of getting a replacement are poor, withTokyo's relations with Beijing at their lowest point in years.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors shows how pandas are beloved in Japan.