TOKYO: The deadline for returning 4-year-old female giant panda Xiang Xiang at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo to China has been extended by six months until the end of December, the Tokyo metropolitan government said Friday.

The extension was due to difficulties experts and others visiting China amid the continuing novel coronavirus pandemic. This was the fourth extension of the deadline caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

Xiang Xiang was born to her father, Ri Ri, and mother, Shin Shin, in June 2017.

She was initially scheduled to be returned to China in June 2019, when she was 2 years old. But the move was postponed until the end of December 2020 as a result of consultations between the Japanese and Chinese sides. Later, Xiang Xiang’s return to China has been put off due to the pandemic.

“Please do come and see the lovely giant pandas,” Tokyo Governor KOIKE Yuriko said at a press conference Friday, noting that Xiang Xiang will stay at Ueno Zoo for some more time.