Anyone whose behavior was considered unpatriotic could be interrogated by the kempeitai. Nisei were particularly at risk. Societal acceptance of the unobtrusive minority had worsened following Midway and the “sideward advance” of Guadalcanal. “Japanese could afford to feel some generosity toward the Nisei in the early days of the war, while Japan was winning one victory after another. But once Japan began to lose the war, they began to treat ‘American-borns’ as if they were spies,” wrote historian Rinjirō Sodei. Frank sensed the tension and devoted extra effort to appear wholly Japanese.
