Visitors bid farewell to 4 giant pandas in western Japan

About 3,000 visitors to a theme park in western Japan attended a farewell ceremony for four giant pandas on Friday, the day before their departure for China.

The four female pandas are part of a joint conservation project with China that is set to expire. They are scheduled to be sent to China from the park in the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, on Saturday.

The pandas will be sent to a panda breeding center in Sichuan Province. The two giant pandas in Tokyo's Ueno Zoo will become the only ones left in Japan, but their loan agreement is scheduled to end next February.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a news conference on Friday that Japan and China "have had positive cooperation on giant panda breeding, research, technical exchange and public education." He added, "Such effort has played an important role for enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between two peoples."