Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo  released a new video of the twin giant pandas Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, which will be returned to China next week.

Both pandas are in good health.

The zoo posted a message on its website saying that the video will be their final update on their current status.

Giant pandas arrived in Japan for the first time in 1972 when Japan and China normalized diplomatic relations.

They have been seen as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.

After Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei return to China, there will be no giant pandas remaining in Japan.

The situation comes as bilateral ties have cooled after Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae made remarks in parliament in November about a potential Taiwan contingency.