Jeremy O Harris in Japanese prison over drug smuggling claims

Jeremy O Harris - Playwrite - 2025 - Zach Land-Miller

(Credits: Zach Land-Miller)

Fri 5 December 2025 16:28, UK

Playwright Jeremy O Harris has been detained in Japan for allegedly smuggling drugs into the country.

Harris, who is the creator of the 2018 play Slave Play, which was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, and also co-wrote the screenplay for the A24 film Zola, has been in custody for the past three weeks.

An Okinawa regional customs spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that Harris was detained on November 16th at Naha Airport on Okinawa island after officials allegedly discovered 0.78 grams of crystal containing MDMA within his tote bag.

After the discovery of the illegal substance was made, Harris was arrested under Japan’s Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act.

Harris remains in custody, according to a police-station official in Tomigusuku city in southern Okinawa who spoke to Reuters. However, it is unclear whether any charges have been filed against the writer.

The playwright had travelled to Okinawa for leisure purposes, flying from the United Kingdom via Taiwan to the destination.

Japan is known for its strict drug laws. In 1980, Paul McCartney was detained for nine days for flying into the country with marijuana and was banned from Japan for many years.

Harris was expected to be at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which is currently ongoing, to promote Pete Ohs’ Erupcja. The film, which Harris also co-wrote, stars him alongside Charli XCX.

After becoming a huge name following the success of Slave Play in 2018, Harris has also gone on to star in the hit Netflix series, Emily in Paris, and also co-produce four episodes in the second season of HBO’s Euphoria.

Harris has yet to issue a statement on his arrest.