Kanao Inouye

was a Canadian man convicted of high treason and war crimes for his actions during World War II. Known as the "Kamloops Kid", he served as an interpreter and prison camp guard for the Imperial Japanese Army and the Kenpeitai secret police.

Early life in Canada A Nisei (second-generation Japanese-Canadian), Kanao Inouye was born to immigrant parents in Kamloops, British Columbia. His father, Tadashi "Tow" Inouye, had emigrated to British Columbia from Tokyo, and had been a decorated Canadian soldier during World War I who earned the Military Medal at Second Battle of Cambrai. serving in the 47th Battalion (British Columbia), CEF.

War years In 1942, Inouye was conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army as an interpreter. Made a Sergeant, he was assigned to Sham Shui Po prison camp in Hong Kong, which housed Canadian prisoners of war from the Hong Kong Garrison. Inouye was noted for his unusual brutality. He beat prisoners at random, stating it was in retaliation for racism and discrimination that he had received in Canada. In contrast to his later trial testimony about his childhood, he allegedly told them: "When I was in Canada I took all kinds of abuse. ... They called me a 'little yellow bastard'. Now where is your so-called superiority, you dirty scum?"

Inouye was discharged from the army the following year, but in 1944, he was conscripted as an interpreter for the notorious Kenpeitai military police in Hong Kong. Trial testimony stated he had been an enthusiastic torturer of suspected spies and traitors. Former POWs said Inouye was responsible for the torture of multiple Canadian POWs and other civilians.

Conviction and execution After the Japanese capitulation in August 1945, Inouye was arrested in Kowloon and tried for war crimes by a British military court. The Judge Presiding was Lt. Col. J.C. Stewart.

The verdict was overturned on appeal, since as a Canadian citizen, Inouye could not be prosecuted for war crimes committed by an enemy army.

Inouye's case is recorded as Case No. HKRS 163-1-216 (Hong Kong Public Records Office). Says Brode:

"Is it possible that he was a citizen of both countries, and if he was British and Japanese when those two countries went to war, who do you owe your loyalty to? [It’s] still a bit of a question mark. More so these days, because so many people across the world have dual citizenships.... He claimed that he was a Japanese that he had been registered since his birth as a Japanese citizen. He traveled under a Japanese passport. He served in the Japanese military. Even Canada’s senior officer in Asia said, ‘This guy has done everything possible to show that he is actually a Japanese citizen.' .... It was not a very neat trial. It was a situation where the judge seemed to be predetermined to get a result. And, by George, he got it."