Paris Hilton Sent Packing, Denied Entry by Japan Due to Recent Drug Conviction

NARITA, Japan (CBS/AP) Hollywood socialite and admitted drug offender Paris Hilton is  cancelling her Asia tour after officials at Tokyo's airport denied her entry.

Apparently, the no-nonsense officials at Narita International Airport sent Paris packing due to her recent guilty plea to a misdemeanor drug charge in Las Vegas, where she was caught with an illegal substance: cocaine.

Although exceptions can sometimes be made to accommodate travelers, especially high-profile ones, Japan's strict immigration laws bar entry to those convicted of drug offenses.

Hilton, who was traveling to Tokyo to promote her fashion and fragrance lines, spent the night at an airport hotel after being questioned by officials.

Ultimately, they decided it would be best for Paris, and for Japan, for the 29-year-old hotel heiress to head back to the United States.

''I'm going back home, and I look forward to coming back to Japan in the future,'' a smiling Hilton told reporters before departing on her private jet.

In addition to saying sayonara to Japan, Hilton also cancelled her planned promotional appearances in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia and Jakarta, Indonesia.

''Paris is very disappointed and fought hard to keep her business commitments and see her fans, but she is forced to postpone her commitments in Asia,'' Dawn Miller, Paris' publicist said in a statement.

''Paris understands and respects the rules and laws of the immigration authorities in Japan and fully wishes to cooperate with them.''

Kazuo Kashihara, an immigration official at Narita International Airport, said Hilton could possibly have avoided her mandated departure if she had applied for an entry permit farther ahead of her arrival, but instead ''she just showed up the day after (pleading guilty)."

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