Two Americans Arrested After Entering Monkey Enclosure at Japanese Zoo

Two American nationals were arrested Sunday in Japan after one of them entered the monkey enclosure at Ichikawa City Zoo, police said Monday. The Ichikawa Police Department identified the suspects as 24-year-old Reid Jahnai Dayson, a university student, and Neal Jabahri Duan, 27, who told police he was a singer.

Dayson reportedly climbed over a fence and dropped into a dry moat surrounding the monkey exhibit. Duan allegedly filmed the action. 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.

The two men face charges of forcible obstruction of business, which they refute. The duo did not have formal identification with them and initially tried to lie to police about their names, an Ichikawa Police official told AFP. Ichikawa Zoo said in a post on its X account Monday that from Tuesday, access to view the enclosure housing Punch would be restricted, with intrusion prevention nets installed and permanent patrols at the site getting underway.

Zoo managers were also discussing banning video recording at the site. The zoo said no abnormalities have been observed among the animals following the incident. The arrests come after the zoo saw a surge in domestic and international visitors driven by Punch's viral fame.