The Asian reporter., November 01, 2021, Image 1

The Asian Reporter
Pacific Northwest News q Volume 31 Number 11 q November 1, 2021 q www.asianreporter.com
Panda cubs at Tokyo zoo get
their names, to debut in January
CUB CHRISTENING. This photo released by the Tokyo Zoological Park Society shows giant panda twin Xiao Xiao (right) next to his sister Lei Lei’s head (left), 103 days after they were born at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, on
October 4, 2021. The twin cubs, which were palm-size pink creatures when they were born on June 23, received their names in October, chosen from hundreds of thousands of suggestions sent from fans around the country.
(Tokyo Zoological Park Society via AP)
By Mari Yamaguchi
The Associated Press
OKYO — Giant panda twins born at Tokyo’s Ueno
Zoo in June have received their names — Lei Lei
for the female cub and Xiao Xiao for her brother.
They were chosen from hundreds of thousands of
suggestions sent from fans around Japan.
The twin cubs, which were palm-size pink creatures
when they were born on June 23, have grown and now
T
have their unique black-and-white blocks, with black fur
around their eyes, ears, and limbs.
Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike announced their names
during her weekly news conference. She said Xiao Xiao
means “the light of dawn turning brighter,” and Lei Lei
portrays a bud becoming a beautiful flower and
developing a bright future.
“Together, Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei can mean bright dawn
leading to the future. I think their names have a very
bright image,” she said.
In a short video that Koike played, the siblings cuddled,
crawled slowly, and went to sleep in a baby cot.
“Adorable,” she said, and played the video twice.
Like elsewhere in the world, pandas are hugely popular
in Japan. Before deciding their names, Tokyo officials
even set up a name selection committee.
Officials from the zoo and the Tokyo government chose
the names from more than 190,000 entries sent from
around Japan and after consulting with the Giant Panda
Continued on page 5
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