Tokyo ( CNN ) -- Police have detained two American men as part of an investigation into the strangling death of an Irish exchange student in Tokyo , Japanese authorities said Sunday . Nicola Furlong , 21 , was found dead in a hotel room with one of the men , according to Tokyo police . The men were not charged in Furlong 's death . Rather , police arrested the men on suspicion of improperly touching Furlong 's friend in a taxi early Thursday , as the four headed back to the hotel , authorities said . Authorities would not say how the four ended up together , but Japanese media reported that the women were attending a Nicki Minaj concert in Tokyo when they met the men and decided to accompany them to their hotel rooms . Police said both men in custody were entertainers -- a 19-year-old musician and a 23-year-old dancer -- but did not say if they were part of Minaj 's entourage . The hotel staff found Furlong unconscious after customers complained of loud noises coming from the room , police said . When the staff got to the room , they found her in the room with the 19-year-old and called the fire department , Tokyo authorities said . The death is believed to be as a result of suffocation by cervical compression , police said . Furlong 's parish priest , the Rev . Jim Fitzpatrick , described her as an `` outgoing , bubbly sort of girl and very well liked , '' and said she was looking forward to coming home after having been in Japan since October . `` Everyone 's a little devastated , '' in her close-knit rural community , which has only 300 or 400 families , he said . `` When the death of a young person happens , everybody knows and is in some way involved or concerned , '' he said . `` When it happens in tragic circumstances and so far away from home , it has a double impact on people . '' Her parents last spoke to her the day she died , he said . She was `` very close '' to her siblings , particularly her sister Andrea , Fitzpatrick said . The U.S. State Department confirmed the arrests , but could not provide additional details , citing privacy concerns . CNN 's Jamie Crawford , Randi Kaye and Bharati Naik contributed to the report .
NEW : Nicola Furlong was an ` ` outgoing , bubbly '' girl , her parish priest says . NEW : Her rural Irish community is devastated , the Rev . Jim Murphy says . The 21-year - old is found dead in a hotel room with one of the boys , police say . The death is believed to be a result of strangling .