Japan sent 10 crested ibises to China on Saturday, officials said, adding that the birds were the offspring of three provided earlier by Beijing.
The Environment Ministry transported the 10 birds, five males and five females born at the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center in Niigata since last year, from Sado Island to Niigata airport, where a handover ceremony was held.
The 10 were born to the three ibises — a female presented to Japan in 2000 and a male and another female in 2007 — and their Japanese-bred mates.
Later in the day, they were flown to Shanghai based on a memorandum of understanding between Tokyo and Beijing that states about half of the chicks born to the three ibises from China will be returned to the country, according to the officials.
A ministry official who took part in the ceremony expressed his hope the exchanges of the birds would continue to deepen Japan and China's friendship.
This is the fourth such delivery under the bilateral arrangement and leaves Japan with 124 Japanese crested ibises.