ITO ON TRIAL AS JAPANESE AGENT

When Kenji Ito, American-born Japanese attorney, went on trial today on charges of acting as an agent of Japan, he found himself facing the judge who had admitted him to practice in United States District Court, and being prosecuted by the man who had vouched for him at that time.

Ito was admitted to practice in the court in 1936, just after his graduation from the University of Washington Law School.

The judge who admitted him was John C. Bowden, on the bench at today's trial, and the witness who signed his petition for admission to practice was Gerald Shucklin, chief assistant United States attorney, who is handling the government's case against Ito.

The case is the first of its type in Seattle since start of the Second World War.

Ito, who was a member of the University of Washington debating team which made a tour of the world in 1936, is charged in 25 counts of acting as an agent for Japan without having notified the State Department. All counts are alike except for the dates on which the government charges the offenses occurred. He has pleaded not guilty.

If convicted of all counts, Ito could be sentenced to 250 years in prison, each count providing for a maximum sentence of ten years, according to Shucklin.

Samuel B. Bassett and George H. Crandell are counsel for the Japanese.