US comedian Sammy Obeid has detailed his experience, saying that Japanese immigration denied him entry in Tokyo and held him for about 24 hours after he arrived for small planned stand-up shows.He detailed the experience in a multi-part X thread on October 23, 2026, stating that he is disheartened to announce that his shows this weekend have been cancelled. One of the screenshots Obeid shared read:“To my dearest fans in Japan, it breaks my heart to tell you that the shows this weekend are cancelled. I’ve been denied entry and just spent 24 hours in a solitary confinement cell. I’m being sent back to the US.”Obeid was scheduled to perform two shows in Tokyo on 23 and 24 October - Talking in Tokyo at Perry's Bar Shibuya on Friday, followed by Tokyo Takeover at Tokyo Comedy Bar on Saturday.Continue to read for more details.Japanese immigration denies entry to Sammy ObeidIn his other screenshots shared on X, Sammy Obeid explained that he arrived in Tokyo, Japan, two days before his scheduled shows with two other comedians, both of whom were allowed into the country.Obeid continued to explain that when he asked the officers why he was being detained, they stated it was due to “security reasons” and did not accept his Instagram as sufficient proof. Obeid said his luggage was searched for weapons and drugs. He spent roughly 22–24 hours in solitary confinement.Sammy Obeid further said that the authorities took him to an interrogation room and asked him to detail each and every activity he planned during his four-day trip to Japan, adding:“They wanted the hour by hour. I mentioned that I wanted to take a day trip to Mt Fuji, and the guy instantly felt vindicated like he caught me in a lie saying “you don’t climb Mt Fuji in a day!” to which I said I just wanted to see it and take pictures. He seemed disappointed. I was quickly losing ground with them.”They eventually told Sammy Obeid to leave Japan and return to the US on the same flight on which he had come, and they asked him to stay in solitary confinement until his next flight, which was in 24 hours.Things took an awkward turn when the officers searched his bags for “weapons and drugs.” Obeid wrote:“What does that have to do with entertainment?? The dudes who searched me were very chill though. They asked if I was a YouTuber and I said yes and showed them my channel. They perked up like “wowww” and were like why are you leaving?! I said I don’t know.”Sammy Obeid was offered an appeal (which he said had a low chance of success and would require another 72 hours in solitary). He declined and signed paperwork in Japanese. He was then put on a return flight.To those who booked their tickets for Sammy Obeid’s Tokyo shows, he offered three options, including a “full refund, transfer to any other of my shows around the world, or a special virtual show just for fans in Japan (in the next month or two).”According to the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, Japan requires an Entertainer visa for any paid or remunerated performance, even for a small venue, which must be sponsored in advance by a local promoter or venue. As per the reports, Sammy Obeid tried to enter Japan without the Entertainer visa.Obeid is a Palestinian-American stand-up comedian and writer best known for performing stand-up comedy for 1,001 consecutive nights - from December 26, 2010, to September 21, 2013, setting a world record. He has also hosted the Netflix social experiment series 100 Humans and performed on *Conan*, America's Got Talent, and Last Comic Standing.