A Japanese diplomat who pleaded no contest to charges of abusing his wife has been sentenced to a year in jail.
Yoshiaki Nagaya, who still serves as vice consul at the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco, has been ordered to turn himself in at San Mateo County Jail by May 4 to serve close to six months behind bars, the San Mateo County Times reported.
He will get credit for time served after pleading no contest to two counts of felony domestic violence, the newspaper reported.
Yuka Nagaya testified that her husband abused her for a period of 18 months and feared that he would kill her over such "common domestic squabbles" as disturbed sleep, the newspaper reported.
Yoshiaki Nagaya avoided a battery of other more serious felony charges -- including applying a screwdriver to his wife, which was dismissed by a judge -- by pleading out to the lesser charge. During trial, it became apparent that the couple had engaged in "mutual combat" -- that is, they fought each other.
