he petitioned a us district court for a declaration that he was still an american citizen because he had not enlisted voluntarily. he testified that in addition to the legal penalties for draft evasion, he was afraid of the violent reputation of the japanese secret police and had been told that the us consulate would not have assisted him if he had sought help to avoid conscription. after pearl harbor, when he said to other japanese soldiers that japan could not win the war, he was regularly beaten every day for a month. the government called no evidence of its own. nevertheless the district judge disbelieved him and confirmed his loss of citizenship. the decision was upheld by the court of appeals for the ninth circuit. nishikawa appealed to the supreme court.