Tipsheet

Two American Tourists Were Arrested for Alleged Monkey Business in Japan

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  May 19, 2026 8:00 AM

If you haven't heard about Punch the monkey, he's a baby macaque who became an Internet sensation earlier this year. His mother rejected him, and videos of Punch clinging to a stuffed orangutan melted hearts across the globe.

Now, two American tourists in Japan are in legal trouble after they allegedly infiltrated the enclosure where Punch and his fellow macaques live.

Here's more:

Two American nationals were arrested Sunday in Japan after one of them entered the monkey enclosure at a zoo where a baby macaque named Punch became a global internet sensation earlier this year, police said Monday.

In a statement shared with CBS News' Japanese partner network TBS News, the Ichikawa Police Department identified the suspects as 24-year-old Reid Jahnai Dayson, who they said was a university student, and Neal Jabahri Duan, 27, who told the police he was a singer.

Dayson reportedly climbed over a fence and dropped into a dry moat surrounding the monkey exhibit at Ichikawa City Zoo outside Tokyo. Duan allegedly filmed him.

Images on social media showed a person scaling the fence in a costume that included a smiley face head with sunglasses, prompting the monkeys to scatter.

The men did not come close to the animals and were quickly apprehended by zoo officials, an official with the Ichikawa Police told the French news agency AFP.

Officials said no animals were harmed in the incident.

This comes amid a surge of tourists to Japan, and the frustration of locals over the behavior of some visitors. According to CBS News, a Ukrainian YouTuber was arrested after trespassing in a house in the Fukushima nuclear exclusion zone, and an American content creator, Johnny Somali, was arrested in 2023 for trespassing in a construction site.

The trespassing charges against Johnny Somali were eventually dropped, but he was also charged with obstructing a business for playing music too loud and 'causing a scene' at a restaurant. For that, he was fined ¥200,000 (about $1,400), deported, and barred from re-entering Japan.

According to Fox News, the zoo will also increase security around the monkey enclosure.

"We just want to watch the monkeys in peace. Stop ruining it for everyone," the post reads.