TMZ has learned Paris Hilton is a captive in a Japanese hotel tonight and can't enter the country ...  after being detained at the airport for hours over her guilty plea for cocaine possession.


A source close to Paris tells us she flew to Japan on business and was questioned by immigration authorities as she got off the plane.  Immigration authorities are allowing Paris to stay at an airport hotel until the matter is resolved.  For her part, Paris hasn't decided whether to stay or leave.

Paris' rep tells TMZ, "Paris Hilton was delayed by immigration authorities at a Japanese airport this evening after arriving for business obligations planned many months earlier.  Paris was contractually bound to her business trip and didn't want to let down her brands and many Asian fans."

An employee at the Consulate-General of Japan in NYC tells TMZ ... Japan is strict about letting people into the country with recent drug convictions but these matters are handled "on a case by case basis."

Paris' rep added ... she will fulfill her contract but right now things are beyond her control.

We're told there was a conflict within the ranks of those who questioned Paris -- some of whom felt it was for show.

More Paris Hilton

• Paris Hilton Pleads Guilty in Cocaine Case
• Paris Hilton -- Blowing off the Club Scene
• Paris Hilton Cops Plea in Cocaine Arrest Case
• Paris Hilton Charged With Drug Felony
• Paris Hilton Arrested for Cocaine in Las Vegas