Biography
Katsuki James Otsuka was a Japanese American Nisei from Richmond, Indiana who had been forcibly interned at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center under Executive Order 9066 during World War II. A Quaker and member of the War Resisters League and Peacemakers, he refused to pay 29% of his income tax (the portion he calculated was dedicated to military spending), withholding $4.50, redirecting it to peace organizations. Arrested and taken to U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on August 19, 1949 — alongside fellow Peacemaker Eroseanna Robinson — he was sentenced to 90 days and a $100 fine, which he also refused to pay, resulting in additional jail time. He served approximately five months total at the Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky, and was released on January 15, 1950. Upon release, he pledged to continue his resistance.
National Guardian's September 26, 1949 report identifies the judge in Otsuka's tax-resistance proceeding as Judge Balzell. It quotes Otsuka asking what the fine would fund and refusing to pay after the judge said he did not know. The source confirms actual jail custody but its sentencing paragraph is visibly damaged; the intact surname is recorded without inventing a first name or changing established dates or served time.
