Americans Arrested in Japan for Entering Punch the Monkey’s Zoo Home to Promote Meme Coin

Two American men were arrested for their role in disturbing viral macaque monkey Punch by slipping into his enclosure in a Japanese zoo—all in an effort to promote a meme coin, according to a report from the New York Times. 

Video and photo evidence from the event show what is believed to be 24-year old Reid Jahnai Daysun climbing over the perimeter fence of the enclosure wearing a costume that promotes the Solana-based meme coin, Just a Memecoin (MEMECOIN). It is alleged that 27-year-old Neal Jabahri Duan filmed the encounter, though both men denied the charges, according to the report. 

“Last night, we filed a damage report with the Ichikawa Police Station,” the Ichikawa Zoo posted on X after the incident. “From tomorrow onward, with the safety and health of the animals as our top priority, we will proceed with countermeasures while strictly addressing any rule violations.”

The zoo, which is located in the suburbs of Japan’s capital city, Tokyo, noted that it is discussing a potential ban of filming, and is also in the process of adding intrusion prevention nets and constant patrols in restriction areas. 

No animals were harmed and none had shown any abnormalities in the wake of the intrusion, the Zoo said. 

While it has heavily promoted the incident on its X page, the Just a Memecoin social media account reminded its virality-seeking community to “respect local laws and never put yourselves, others, or any animals at risk.”

“Wild energy is part of the culture, but safety always comes first,” it added, while offering a donation of 1 million Japanese yen (~$6,300) to the zoo.

Viral videos of the event, one X post of which has amassed more than 5.7 million views, have helped the token jump around 35% in the last seven days of trading, according to CoinGecko, currently trading around $0.0118, or a nearly $11.9 million market cap.

The token’s success is dwarfed by the rise of one based on Punch, the monkey that rose to fame on account of its attachment to a stuffed animal from Ikea while it was ostracized by the others in its enclosure. 

At the height of the monkey’s virality, that Solana meme coin (PUNCH) jumped to more than a $43 million market cap. That same token is roughly flat in the last 24 hours, but trades now around a $2.35 million market cap.