Eimei, A Giant Panda That Becomes A Symbol Of Japan-China Friendship Dies Due To Organ Failure

The giant Panda Eimei at Adventure World, Shirahama, Wakayama, Japan. (Source: Xinhua/Jiang Qiomei)

JAKARTA - The world's oldest giant panda capable of producing offspring through captivity, died from organ failure, after being sent home from Japan and became a special envoy of China's friendship with Japan.

The Chinese giant panda research center said on Friday, a giant panda named Eimei who was repatriated from Japan in 2023, died at the end of January at the age of 32, equivalent to about 100 years in a human year, quoted from Kyodo News February 14

Eimei, who became the father of 16 panda cubs at the zoo in western Japan's Wakayama Prefecture and recognized as the world's oldest giant panda in captivity to produce offspring through natural breeding, died on January 25 after experiencing a failure of several organs, according to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan Province.

In his final days, Eimei's health declined, with symptoms such as lethargic, decreased appetite, and difficulty breathing.

The center expresses deep condolences for the death of Eimei, who "opened a new chapter in international conservation cooperation for the giant panda."

Eimei came to Japan on loan in 1994 at the age of 1 and spent nearly three decades at the Adventure World zoo in Wakayama as part of a breeding cooperation program between the two countries.

On December 17, 2022, Eimie was appointed special envoy for the Chinese-Japan friendship, quoted from Xinhua.

The announcement was made by the Chinese Consul General at Osaka Xue Jian at Adventure World. Konjen Xue said, as a symbol of friendship between China and Japan, the giant panda played a unique role in promoting friendship between the two nations and developing bilateral relations.

Eimei, or Yong Ming in Mandarin, is a male panda. He is the father of 16 giant panda cubs born on Adventure World, which set the world record as the oldest giant panda to breed in captivity.

In February 2023, Eimei was returned to China with her twin daughters, Ouhin and Touhin.