Jeremy O. Harris has been released from custody after being arrested and detained in Japan over drug-smuggling allegations.

The U.S. actor and Tony-nominated playwright was arrested on 16 November at Naha Airport on the Japanese island of Okinawa on suspicion of attempting to bring illegal drugs into the country.

A spokesperson for Okinawa Regional Customs previously told Reuters that a customs official allegedly discovered 780 milligrams of MDMA in Harris's tote bag.

According to The New York Times, the Slave Play writer was freed from detention on Monday after spending three weeks in custody.

His representative told the publication that Harris had not been charged with any offence and will remain in Japan to conduct research for an upcoming project.

Before his arrest, the 36-year-old had been preparing to travel to Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Film Festival. His appearance at the event was later dropped, as he had been scheduled to promote his indie road movie Erupcja, co-starring British hitmaker Charli XCX.

Japan enforces some of the strictest narcotics laws in the developed world, prosecuting even minor possession cases and frequently detaining suspects for extended periods without bail. Most notably, Beatles icon Paul McCartney faced an arrest followed by a lengthy entry ban following his 1980 marijuana arrest.

Harris is best known for his acclaimed Broadway hit Slave Play, as well as for his on-screen work playing fashion designer Grégory Elliot Duprée in the Netflix series Emily in Paris. He has also made appearances in the Gossip Girl reboot and What We Do in the Shadows.