Mitose, Masayoshi James

In late summer 1941, four Hawaii Nikkei were investigated by the FBI for their role in a plot to impersonate U.S. military intelligence officers in order to extort thousands of dollars from fellow immigrants by threatening to expose them as members of a Japanese spy ring. Charged with conspiracy were Nizo Arita, Masayoshi Mitose, Kuwasaburo Sakaguchi, and Mitsuo Tokunaga. With the outbreak of war, the four were ordered interned for its duration and the government waived prosecution in the extortion case. One of their victims, Kiroku Abe, would find himself interned as well, incarcerated at Honouliuli along with his assailants.