Jeremy O. Harris Arrested On Suspicion Of Smuggling Drugs Into Japan

Jeremy O. Harris is the latest famous American to learn the hard way about another country’s drug laws.

The acclaimed playwright has reportedly been locked up in Japan for the past three weeks after he was accused and arrested for smuggling drugs into Okinawa. Now he’s under suspicion of violating Japan’s Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act. 

According to the New York Times, it all began on Nov. 16 when Harris arrived at Naha Airport after a flight from Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport, where customs officers discovered 780 milligrams of a crystal substance containing MDMA in his tote bag.

He’s been in custody since then, but it was only on Dec. 4 that customs officially referred Harris to prosecutors in Naha to begin the process of charging. 

Rolling Stone confirmed with nearby Tomigusuku officials that Harris remains in custody, but “couldn’t say if he’d admitted to the allegations against him.”

Japan Customs has since released a report saying the “Okinawa Regional Customs Naha Airport Customs Branch conducted a joint investigation with the Okinawa Prefecture Tomigusuku Police Station into a drug smuggling case.”

Japan is known for its strict drug laws, with the maximum punishment being life in prison. Others who have landed in hot water over Japan’s laws include DJ David Morales in 2018 and Paul McCartney, who caught a weed charge there in 1980.

However, the most recent American involved in an overseas drug case was WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia for almost a year over possession of medicinal marijuana.

It adds that Harris is an “offender” who “planned to import drugs into Japan” until Naha Airport Customs Branch officers discovered them. They also included photos of the Gucci bag and the plastic container filled with the allegedly illegal substance.

Harris, a Virginia native, skyrocketed to fame for his Broadway production Slave Play from 2018. The three-act play follows three interracial couples going through sex therapy as they battle power dynamics. He originally wrote it while attending Yale School of Drama, and it earned him 12 Tony nominations, including for Best Play, Best Leading Actor and Actress, and Best Director. He was also a co-writer on A24’s Zola.

See social media’s reaction to his arrest below.