[T.B. Yoits]

William Shatner was cast because he could convincingly play a starship captain on never-before-seen space adventures. George Takei was hired because the writers wanted diversity in the crew, pushing the envelope in television casts at the time.

If George Takei were white, he would have been issued a red uniform and ended up dead in his first episode as part of an "away team".

[dangus]

Oh come on, George Takei had lots of huge roles, including “soldier in hospital (uncredited),” “helmsman aboard Japanese ship (uncredited),” “Police Captain,” “Vietnamese captain,” “Captain Nim,” and “Mr. Asano’s majordomo,” and “Yamahita” in Jerry Lewis’ screwball WWII flick!