The Tokyo Metropolitan Government said the twin giant pandas at Ueno Zoo will leave for China on January 27.

Xiao Xiao and his sister Lei Lei will depart from Narita Airport that night for Sichuan Province.

They will be returned as part of an agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

Their final viewing date is January 25.

Since officials announced in mid-December that the pair will be returned in late January, visitors have flooded to the zoo with wait times of up to 4 hours for a roughly one-minute viewing.

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.