TOKYO, Japan — The scene is reminiscent of a public memorial to fallen star or royal family member, stolen before the public could let go: Mourners lining up to sign the condolence book (10,000 names signed so far) and dozens of flowers and stuffed animals surrounding the pictures of their beloved, lost one. A woman, arriving at the elaborate shrine, breaks down into giant sobs, collapsing into the arms of her husband.

Thousands have flocked to the elaborate shrine.

This has been the continuous sight outside the panda exhibit at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan, after its 22-year-old panda, Ling Ling, died. The only giant panda that belonged to Japan, the zoo suddenly finds itself without a panda for the first time since 1972. And it’s why China’s President Hu Jintao’s announcement that his country would be gifting Japan two pandas is such a powerful gesture to this panda-obsessed nation.

To people outside Japan, the gift may simply seem like a slick political move. Send over a couple of fuzzy bears and presto, a nice picture for the evening news. But Japanese people prize anything that’s kawaii, which means cute, in Japanese. Stroll through Tokyo and you’ll see uber-cute cartoons on every corner, every advertisement, and on the clothes and key chains of most residents. Heck, even the police department has a fuzzy bear as its mascot, printed on the signs of all of its police stations. This nation takes cuteness seriously.

The panda, and the elderly Ling Ling in particular, epitomize kawaii. Throw in the fact that pandas are endangered and that’s enough to whip some Japanese people into a frenzy. Japanese government officials, noting the giant outpouring of grief over Ling Ling’s death, even publicly suggested a panda gift from China might ease their broken hearts.

It wouldn’t be the first time pandas have strengthened political ties between Japan and China. In 1992, Ling Ling arrived in Japan in exchange for a Japan-born panda to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties with China. But in the decades following the panda exchange, ties became strained and at the turn of the century, icy, over past war crimes and allegations that each was trying to re-write its history books. These nations have dueled over Tibet, food safety issues, gas exploration in the East China Sea. Japan, once the superpower of the East, greeted mainland Chinese tourists with a sense of haughty disdain.

But times have changed the world’s economic and political landscape. With Japan’s Prime Minister Fukuda and China’s President Hu, that once icy past is thawing to a new spring, say foreign ministry officials from both countries. The leaders inked a deal promising to work together and forge a healthier future for both countries.

And what more powerful way to cement this new phase of their friendship than with a pair of fuzzy, endangered, kawaii pandas. Just in the nick of time to heal a nation’s broken heart.

Watch video of mourners at the zoo

OBAMA, Japan – Mayor Toshio Murakami went to the wrong chair to sit down and address the media. You can’t blame him, for this was his first real press conference. The mayor of Obama, Japan exclaimed to the dozen news cameras focused on him that he’d never seen so many before.

Murakami is the mayor of this 32,000-population fishing village, with the happy accident of sharing its name with the man who hopes to become President of the United States. Murakami is happy to see all the media in his community; maybe it’ll help bring tourists to this sleepy town and boost the sagging economy.

Murakami held up a letter and an envelope, postmarked from Washington, DC. His voice quivered with nerves as he read it to reporters from across Japan as well as a few international news crews. “I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the city of Obama for your support and encouragement, and thank you for your thoughtful gifts,” he said. “We share more than a common name; we share a common planet and common responsibilities.”

Murakami paused as he read the last words of the letter: “Your friend, Barack Obama.”

He looked up at the cameras and smiled, saying: “I’m impressed by his elegance.”

It took a year for the candidate to write that thank you letter, but the town of Obama, Japan, is ecstatic he wrote back at all. The town is cheering on its namesake in the U.S. election, hoping his victory will boost the city’s economy but also bring new life to a place usually focused on daily fishing and its chopstick-making industry.

“It’s exciting,” said chopstick maker Tatsuyuki Funai. He held up a lacquered chopstick emblazoned with a caricature of Barack Obama and the words: I heart Obama. Funai is planning on the chopsticks being used at the viewing party for the US primary returns on mini-Super Tuesday.

And a party, it will be, they promise,  hosted by the self-proclaimed “Unofficial Supporters of Obama” group and featuring the chopsticks, T-shirts sporting Obama’s face and sweet ‘manju’ treats with the same caricature. For the main course, hamburger, pork fillets and special sushi have been named in honor of their adopted, favorite son.

They’ve made clothes for the occasion, including traditional party kimonos and “victory” headbands. And then there’s the entertainment: the town’s 15 hula dancers, who’ve created a dance to express their adoration of Barack Obama.

Mayor Murakami bristled at questions about what he hopes to gain from the media coverage and whether he’s latching on too hard to the coincidence of shared names. But what if Barack Obama wins the White House? Murakami chuckled: “We hope he can find time to visit!”