Panda loan talks go silent as Japan-China ties sour
Giant panda Xiao Xiao walks around his enclosure on the final day of public viewing at Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo’s Taito Ward on Jan. 25, 2026. (Mainichi/Tatsuya Fujii) TOKYO — In August 2024, Toshihiro Nikai, the former secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, visited Beijing…