Paris Hilton halted from entering Japan

By Alan Duke, CNN

September 21, 2010 9:54 p.m. EDT

Paris Hilton entered guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges in Nevada on Monday.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Hilton appeared at an airport hearing Wednesday
• Japanese officials allowed her to check into an airport hotel overnight
• Hilton's spokesman says she has business obligations in Japan
• The socialite pleaded guilty to a drug charge in Las Vegas Monday

RELATED TOPICS

• Paris Hilton
• Japan
• Socialites
• Celebrity News

(CNN) -- Paris Hilton appeared before Japanese immigration officials Wednesday morning to ask that they allow her to enter the country despite her drug conviction earlier this week, a Japanese official said.
The American celebrity socialite was stopped from entering the country Tuesday night, a day after she pleaded guilty to a drug charge in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to her spokesman.
Immigration officials allowed Hilton to spend the night at a hotel at the Narita airport so she could appeal their decision to bar her from the country, the Japanese official told CNN.
She was at the airport Wednesday morning for her hearing, the official said.
Japanese immigration rules general prohibit foreigners who are on probation for criminal offenses from entering the country, the official said.
Hilton traveled to Japan because of "business obligations planned many months earlier," her spokesman said.
"Paris was contractually bound to her business trip and didn't want to let down her brands and many Asian fans," the spokesman said.
Hilton entered guilty pleas to misdemeanor charges of drug possession and obstruction of an officer, but a felony cocaine possession charge was dropped on Monday. She was sentenced to a year on probation, a $2,000 fine and 200 hours of community service.
She was arrested on the Las Vegas strip last month after she and her boyfriend were stopped by a motorcycle officer who smelled marijuana coming from their vehicle.
Hilton admitted in court Tuesday that a small amount of cocaine found in her pocketbook was hers.
Her spokesman said Hilton was "very disappointed" that she was prevented from entering Japan.

"She intended on fulfilling her contract and is trying hard to do the responsible thing, but this is beyond her control," the spokesman said.