This will be the first time since 1972 that Japan will be left without the beloved animals. Propects of their replacement remain thin owing to the strain in ties between Tokoyo and Beijing.

WATCH | Japan bids emotional farewell to last two pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei before China return

Tensions rose in the South China Sea as the Philippines accused China of harassing and injuring Filipino fishermen near Sabina Shoal and vowed diplomatic action. China denied wrongdoing, while Japan reiterated its stance that Taiwan issues must be resolved peacefully under the 1972 pact.

China’s tensions with Philippines and Japan: Manila steps up diplomatic war; Tokyo softens after Takaichi's Taiwan stance

Japan is set to be without a giant panda for the first time in nearly 50 years after a pair of panda twins are scheduled to leave Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo and return to China.

Japan’s only two pandas to be repatriated to China; what is panda diplomacy

Japan PM Sanae Takaichi sparked tensions with China after a comment on Taiwan as an example of using Japan's “survival-threatening situation” law, despite official advice to avoid such scenarios.

Takaichi was advised against making Taiwan remark in parliament fearing China's backlash? What's the truth

Tensions in the Asia-Pacific are surging as Japan and the US stage a joint air exercise in response to coordinated China-Russia patrols and a radar-lock incident near Okinawa. It all started after one Taiwan remark by the Japanese PM

War clouds over Asia-Pacific? US bombers join Japanese jets after China-Russia drills - What's happening

The US has has spoken against China for endangering regional peace as China and Russia conducted joint air patrols near Japan and South Korea, prompting both nations to scramble jets. Tensions between Japan and China are at their worst in years

'Not conducive to regional peace...': US slams China after Chinese, Russian bombers fly past Japan amid tensions

China–Japan tensions escalated once again after Japanese PM Takaichi’s Taiwan remark, triggering diplomatic clashes, military accusations. Disputes over Japan’s Mageshima base and radar-lock incidents deepened friction

China, Japan heading toward all-out war? Military base construction, patrolling in contested waters — What's happening

A remark by Japan’s PM Sanae Takaichi on defending Taiwan triggered a major diplomatic clash with China, leading to travel warnings, flight cancellations, halted student exchanges. Beijing demands Japan retract the statement as the standoff deepens.

China and Japan embroiled in major diplomatic war over Taiwan – What triggered it and what's happening now

Japan’s decision to convert two warships into aircraft carriers instils fears in Beijing