2 Americans arrested over trespassing stunt at viral monkey Punch’s enclosure
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The arrests came after one of the men climbed over a fence into the monkey habitat area at Ichikawa City Zoo.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO – Two Americans were arrested in Japan after a stunt in which one entered the monkey enclosure at a zoo where a baby macaque named Punch became a global internet sensation, police said on May 18.
One of the men, who identified himself as a 24-year-old college student, was arrested on May 17 after climbing over a fence and dropping into a dry moat surrounding the monkey exhibit at Ichikawa City Zoo outside Tokyo.
The other man, who was filming the act, identified himself as a 27-year-old singer.
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, said an official with the Ichikawa police.
The two men face charges of forcible obstruction of business, which they refute, the police official said.
The duo did not have formal identifications with them and initially tried to lie to police about their names, he added.
The arrests follow a massive surge in domestic and international visitors to the zoo, driven by Punch’s viral fame.
The baby monkey became an internet star in 2026 after the zoo posted photos of him clutching an IKEA plush orangutan for comfort after being rejected by his mother.
Punch was raised in an artificial environment after being born in July, and began training to rejoin his troop earlier in 2026.
Punch’s predicament sparked huge interest online, spawning a devoted fan base under the hashtag #HangInTherePunch.
An unprecedented number of tourists are flocking to Japan, but some residents have become fed up with unruly behaviour.
In 2025, a Ukrainian YouTuber with more than 6.5 million subscribers was arrested after livestreaming himself trespassing in a house in the Fukushima nuclear exclusion zone.
And an American livestreamer known as Johnny Somali was arrested in 2023 for allegedly trespassing onto a construction site. AFP
