Associated Press

US Playwright Jeremy O. Harris Released 3 Weeks after Arrest in Japan for Alleged Drug Smuggling

Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File
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.

The Associated Press

11:27 JST, December 12, 2025

TOKYO (AP) — The American playwright and actor Jeremy O. Harris has been released from detention in Japan three weeks after he was taken into custody on suspicion of smuggling the psychedelic drug ecstasy.

The 36-year-old Harris, known for his Tony-nominated “ Slave Play,” was freed from police custody Monday, the Tomishiro police department told The Associated Press on Wednesday. It declined to say if Harris, who also starred in “Emily in Paris,” was released on bail or if he had left the country.

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 (0.0275 ounces ) of the crystalized drug, also known as MDMA, in a container in a tote bag he was carrying.

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American Playwright Jeremy O. Harris Arrested in Japan on Alleged Drug Smuggling

Harris had left London’s Heathrow Airport two days earlier and transited in Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport before arriving in Naha for sightseeing, customs officials said.

Harris was arrested on the spot and taken into custody by the Tomishiro police, which sent the case to prosecutors for further investigation and possible indictment.

The Naha District Public Prosecutors Office refused to confirm whether his case has been dropped or still being investigated.

AP requests for comment from Harris’ representatives in the U.S. were not returned Tuesday.

Japanese criminal procedures allow investigators to keep a suspect in custody for up to 23 days before indictment.

Harris debuted with “Slave Play,” which he wrote as a graduate student at the Yale School of Drama. The play incited controversy with its provocative mix of race, class and sexual taboos when it premiered off-Broadway in 2018. It earned a Tony nomination for best play the following year but did not win an award.

He’s also cameoed as himself on a rebooted “Gossip Girl” and served as a coproducer on several episodes of HBO’s hit series “Euphoria.”