December 18, 2017
Event celebrating the public debut of Xiang Xiang
On Monday, December 18, Governor Koike participated in a ceremony at Ueno Zoo to celebrate the public debut of the giant panda cub, Xiang Xiang.
The event was held a day before the female panda cub’s December 19 public display. Xiang Xiang was born on June 12 this year. Over the last six months, she grew from 147 grams to more than 12 kilograms.
Welcoming the fact that a very cute name, “Xiang Xiang,” was picked from among over 320,000 entries submitted, the governor said, “Giant pandas are at risk of extinction, with it said that there are only 1,800 giant pandas in the world. Xiang Xiang is one of those precious few. Xiang Xiang’s growth provides the public with a good chance to learn about the wildlife conservation efforts of the zoo. I deeply thank those who have watched over the panda baby’s growth and local authorities and associations for their support.”
A bronze sculpture of the popular panda made by a Chinese artist was presented to Yutaka Fukuda, director of Ueno Zoo, by Wang Wan, the wife of the Chinese Ambassador to Japan, who said, “As we will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People’s Republic of China next year, I sincerely hope that Xiang Xiang will grow up in good health and actively serve as an envoy of peace and friendship.”
Director Fukuda said, “Ueno Zoo is very pleased and proud to publically display a baby panda for the first time in 29 years. This is our first successful case of natural breeding and a very big achievement for us.”
