American playwright and actor Jeremy O. Harris arrested in Japan for allegedly smuggling ecstasy

Prominent American playwright and actor, Jeremy O. Harris, known for his Tony-nominated “Slave Play,” was arrested in Japan on suspicion of smuggling the psychedelic drug ecstasy, officials said Saturday.

Officers at Naha Airport on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa arrested Harris on Nov. 16 for an alleged violation of customs law for having 0.78 grams, or 0.0275 ounces, of the crystalized drug, also known as MDMA, in a container in a tote bag he was carrying, according to Okinawa Regional Customs spokesperson Tatsunori Fukuda.

Harris, 36, had left London’s Heathrow Airport two days earlier and transited in Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport before arriving in Naha for sightseeing, Fukuda said. Okinawa is a popular resort destination with mild weather throughout the year.

Jeremy O. Harris attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibition on Monday, May 5, 2025, in New York.

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Fukuda said Harris was arrested on the spot and taken into custody by the Tomishiro police, which filed a criminal complaint to the Naha District Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday for further investigation and possible indictment. CBS News has reached out to the Tomishiro police for additional comment.

Japanese authorities did not find any other drugs in his luggage and believe the MDMA was for his personal use. They are still investigating, Fukuda said, while adding that whether Harris made any comment on the case could not be released.

There was no immediate comment from Harris’ representatives. Harris has not publicly commented on his arrest.

CBS News reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Japan for additional comment.

Japanese criminal procedures allow investigators to keep a suspect in custody for up to 23 days before indictment, and pretrial detention can be prolonged if the accused exercises their right of silence or denies the charges, a practice widely criticized as “hostage justice.”

Those convicted of drug smuggling in Japan can face a multiyear prison term.

Harris burst onto the arts scene with “Slave Play,” written while he was still a graduate student at the Yale School of Drama. It premiered off-Broadway in 2018, inciting controversy and even a petition to shut down the production with its provocative mix of race, class and sexual taboos. It moved to Broadway the following year, earning a Tony nomination for best play, but did not win an award.

The play returned for a short run on Broadway in December 2021.

“There haven’t been enough chances for us to reflect who we are to the world and to ourselves and to ponder what that reflection means, and so this is what ‘Slave Play’ gets to do for people,” Harris told CBS New York in 2021.

In addition to small acting roles, he’s cameoed as himself on a rebooted “Gossip Girl” and served as a co-producer on several episodes of HBO’s hit series “Euphoria.”