Japanese Diplomat Faces Domestic Violence Sentencing

A Japanese diplomat who pleaded no contest to two counts of domestic violence in December is scheduled to be sentenced in San Mateo County Superior Court on Monday.

Yoshiaki Nagaya, 33, a vice consul for Japan stationed in San Francisco, had been accused of committing "constant acts of violence" against his ex-wife during their 18-month marriage, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

According to prosecutors, Nagaya allegedly stabbed his wife in the hand with a screwdriver, knocked her tooth out during a separate assault, and kicked her multiple times.

Nagaya's wife, who is much smaller in stature than her former husband, photographed her injuries after each attack, Wagstaffe said. In March, the victim approached police and claimed that Nagaya had pushed her out of a car in the parking garage of their San Bruno apartment complex, Wagstaffe said.

Investigators were unable to substantiate the accusation, and questions about the wife's credibility prompted the district attorney's office to drop all but two of the charges against Nagaya, which ranged from assault with a deadly weapon to spousal assault, Wagstaffe said.

Nagaya faces up to a year in county jail.

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