Known as the "Kamloops Kid", he served as an interpreter and prison camp guard for the Imperial Japanese Army and the Kenpeitai secret police.

His father, Tadashi Inouye, had emigrated to British Columbia from Tokyo, and had been a decorated Canadian soldier during World War I.

His family nevertheless maintained close ties to Japan, where his grandfather, Chotahara Inouye, was a Member of Parliament in the House of Peers.

Under normal circumstances, the lesser verdict would have spared his life, since British war crimes courts did not condemn anyone to death if none of their victims had died.

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