Hearing to Continue Friday for Japanese Official Accused of Domestic Violence

The fourth day of the accused of domestic violence against his wife while they lived in San Francisco and San Bruno is scheduled to take place Friday.

The entire hearing so far has involved questioning Yuka Nagaya—the wife of Yoshiaki Nagaya, the Japanese embassy official—who during testimony for the prosecution detailed more than a dozen incidents in which her husband violently beat her.

Many of the incidents were apparently fueled by her husband's rage, she said, whenever she brought up an alleged extra-marital relationship he had with a woman who also worked at the Japanese embassy in San Francisco.

The Nagayas were married in 2010 and are currently going through a divorce. Yuka Nagaya also filed a peronal injury lawsuit against her husband last week, seeking an unlimited amount of damages past $25,000, according to the San Mateo Daily Journal.

Yoshiaki Nagaya was  and charged with 14 counts of domestic violence for allegedly stabbing his wife in the hand with a screwdriver, knocking out her tooth, stomping on her and throwing her out of a car during the course of their marriage—allegations that the embassy official has denied.

The preliminary hearing, which will determine whether the case goes to trial, has generated a lot of attention from local and Japanese media, and it has been full of surprising interruptions.

During the first day of the hearing, a Japanese interpreter for Yuka Nagaya abruptly resigned after claiming that he was fatigued. On another day, Superior Court Judge Lisa Novak, who has been overseeing the proceedings, had to stop the hearing after learning that Yuka Nagaya had been recording her testimony.

During cross-examination by the defense attorney, Nagaya has continued to have difficulty answering questions, saying that she doesn't remember certain incidents or that she doesn't understand his questions.

Novak suspected that members of the consulate general's office, who have been in attendance at the hearing, have been intimidating Nagaya during the process—specifically the deputy counsel general for the consulate general's office—and she warned the government members about having any contact with her.

According to the Daily Journal, one approached her and said, “you did it,” as she entered the courtroom.