Pandemic pushes back return of popular Tokyo panda to China

The Tokyo metropolitan government has agreed with Chinese authorities to push back through next May the return of Xiang Xiang, the popular female offspring of a giant panda couple on loan from China, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Yuriko Koike said Thursday.Xiang Xiang, born in June 2017 at the Ueno Zoological Gardens, was originally scheduled to leave Japan when she turned 2. But in May last year, the two sides agreed to extend the loan period through the end of this year due to her popularity in Japan.This time, they also agreed to push back the return deadline for her parents, fathe…READ FULL ARTICLE