{"id":5456,"date":"2026-05-19T13:28:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T13:28:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T13:28:22","slug":"american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure\/","title":{"rendered":"American tourists arrested in Japan after alleged break-in at viral monkey Punch\u2019s enclosure"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Punch the monkey makes new friends after bullying video goes viral<\/a><\/h4>\n

This video shows Punch, a young macaque in Japan who has gone viral, seeking physical contact not from his stuffed toy, but from another monkey, eventually climbing onto its back for a vital social behavior for young macaques known as the “piggyback ride.” Punch gained fame after his birth last year and his abandonment by his mother.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Two American nationals were reportedly arrested in Japan<\/a> on Sunday after one allegedly entered the enclosure of Punch, the young macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo who became famous online for his inseparable bond with a stuffed orangutan toy.<\/p>\n

Videos circulating online appear to show a person dressed in an emoji costume<\/a> climbing over a barrier into the Japanese macaque enclosure before dropping a small stuffed toy near the animals, startling them and causing them to retreat, according to Agence France-Presse<\/a> (AFP).<\/p>\n

The suspects were identified as a 24-year-old college student and a 27-year-old self-described singer, AFP reported.<\/p>\n

PUNCH THE MONKEY, VIRAL STAR, EXPERIENCES DRAMATIC BREAKTHROUGH AMONG ZOO MATES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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This photo taken on Feb. 19, 2026 shows Punch sitting with his stuffed orangutan toy at Ichikawa City Zoo.<\/span> (JIJI PRESS \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Zoo staff quickly intervened, and authorities said neither suspect made physical contact with the monkeys, according to AFP.<\/p>\n

Ichikawa Police told AFP the two men were arrested<\/a> on suspicion of forcible obstruction of business.<\/p>\n

One suspect was not cooperating with police, while the other denied the allegations, according to reports citing NHK.<\/p>\n

In a statement posted to X on May 17, Ichikawa City Zoo confirmed the pair had been turned over to police and said safety inspections were conducted afterward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ORPHANED BABY MONKEY FINDS COMFORT IN STUFFED ANIMAL AFTER BEING ABANDONED BY MOTHER AT BIRTH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Punch is seen with his stuffed animal on Feb. 20, 2026.<\/span> (Photo by David Mareuil\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Officials added that no animals <\/a>were injured during the incident.<\/p>\n

“Around 10:50 today, there was an intruder in Saruyama,” the zoo wrote. “We are informing you that the two individuals, including the intruder in question, have been handed over to the police.”<\/p>\n

The zoo also announced temporary viewing-area closures and enhanced security measures while operations continued as scheduled.<\/p>\n

SEVERAL MONKEYS STILL ON THE LOOSE IN ST LOUIS AS OFFICIALS CALL OFF SEARCH FOR ROAMING ANIMALS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Punch-kun<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
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Punch became a viral sensation earlier this year after zoo staff gave him a stuffed orangutan toy for comfort.\u00a0<\/span> (@20230605x_x via Storyful)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The monkey had been abandoned by his mother shortly after birth in July 2025, prompting zookeepers<\/a> to hand-raise him.<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital’s Khloe Quill contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Sophia Compton is a Writer at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Story tips can be sent to sophia.compton@fox.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Punch the monkey makes new friends after bullying video goes viral This video shows Punch, a young macaque in Japan who has gone viral, seeking physical contact not from his stuffed toy, but from another monkey, eventually climbing onto its back for a vital social behavior for young macaques known as the “piggyback ride.” Punch…<\/p>\n

Read More “American tourists arrested in Japan after alleged break-in at viral monkey Punch\u2019s enclosure”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/punch-the-monkey-japan.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4094,1335,4146,4267,254,4268,2972],"class_list":["post-5456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-crime-world","tag-japan","tag-police-and-law-enforcement","tag-primates","tag-travel","tag-wild-nature","tag-world"],"yoast_head":"\nAmerican tourists arrested in Japan after alleged break-in at viral monkey Punch\u2019s enclosure - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"American tourists arrested in Japan after alleged break-in at viral monkey Punch\u2019s enclosure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Punch the monkey makes new friends after bullying video goes viral This video shows Punch, a young macaque in Japan who has gone viral, seeking physical contact not from his stuffed toy, but from another monkey, eventually climbing onto its back for a vital social behavior for young macaques known as the “piggyback ride.” Punch...Read More “American tourists arrested in Japan after alleged break-in at viral monkey Punch\u2019s enclosure” »\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-19T13:28:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/punch-the-monkey-japan.jpg\" \/><meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/punch-the-monkey-japan.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/punch-the-monkey-japan.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8b364f5cc7fbc8705a888e63db8c026a\"},\"headline\":\"American tourists arrested in Japan after alleged break-in at viral monkey Punch\u2019s enclosure\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-19T13:28:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-19T13:28:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure\/\"},\"wordCount\":520,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"crime world\",\"Japan\",\"police and law enforcement\",\"primates\",\"travel\",\"wild nature\",\"world\"],\"articleSection\":[\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ventil.rs\/blog\/world\/american-tourists-arrested-in-japan-after-alleged-break-in-at-viral-monkey-punchs-enclosure\/\",\"name\":\"American tourists arrested in Japan after alleged break-in at viral monkey Punch\u2019s enclosure - 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