Panda twins return home

Japanese panda fans gathered on Sunday for the final public viewing at Tokyo’s Ueno zoo before twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei return to China this week.  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, with Tokyo’s relations with Beijing at their lowest point in years. China first sent pandas to Japan in 1972, a gift meant to mark the normalisation of diplomatic ties between the two wary neighbours. The cuddly black-and-white bears immediately won Japanese hearts, and a dozen successors have become national celebrities.  The latest departing panda twins have attracted massive crowds despite a one-minute viewing limit per visitor in the panda zone set by the zoo.