The yen languished near record lows against the euro and Swiss franc on Monday as the lack of hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan emboldened traders to sell the currency, even as Japanese officials stepped up warnings about currency intervention.

Pandas have stood for friendship between China and Japan since 1972. But the last two are about to go, and a dispute over Taiwan could get in the way of sending more.

Japan has scrambled jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country, the Japanese defense ministry said late Tuesday, amid rising tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

The yen traded near record lows against the euro and Swiss franc on Monday as the lack of hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan emboldened traders to sell the currency, even as Japanese officials stepped up warnings about intervention.

Twin pandas at a Tokyo zoo are set to return to China in late January, leaving Japan without a panda for the first time in about 50 years

Hatsune Miku is about to take over Tokyo in record-breaking fashion, with the city to debut “the largest Miku in history” during its New Year’s Eve show.

Prices of used condominiums in central Tokyo continue to surge, with the average staying above 100 million yen for a seventh straight month.