Two American men still jailed in Japan in death of Irish exchange student Nicola Furlong

(CBS/AP) MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Two American men remain held in a Japanese prison in connection with the fatal strangulation last month of 21-year-old Irish exchange student Nicola Furlong, CBS affiliate WREG reports.

Japanese police took 19-year-old Memphis man Richard Hinds into custody along with 23-year-old dancer James Jamari Blackston, shortly after Furlong was found strangled on May 24 in a Tokyo hotel after a Nicki Minaj concert. 

By law, suspects in Japan can be held for a considerable period of time without a charge as investigators build a case.

Hinds and Blackston are not charged with Furlong's death but are detained under suspicion of giving alcoholic drinks to Furlong's friend and then sexually molesting her in a taxi to the hotel, WREG reports.

Police have not officially named Hinds as a suspect, since the 19-year-old is considered a minor under Japanese law.

Friends said the men were in Japan as part of the touring group of a Japanese pop star.

More on Crimesider
May 28, 2012 - Two Americans arrested in Tokyo after Irish exchange student's death