FEATURE: Alarm in Japan as giant pandas to leave amid Taiwan row

TOKYO - Giant pandas from China have delighted visitors to zoos in Japan for more than 50 years, but fans are now anxious that the star attractions may disappear altogether amid an intensifying diplomatic row over Taiwan.

Japan's two remaining giant pandas -- twins Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao -- will return to China this month, leaving none for the first time since 1972, when China gifted a pair to Japan following the normalization of bilateral ties after World War II.