After five days of testimony, the preliminary hearing for the case against the against his wife while they lived in San Francisco and San Bruno has concluded.
The cross-examination of the wife of Yoshiaki Nagaya, the Japanese embassy official, finished Monday, and the defense attorney representing Nagaya continued his questioning of two more people.
San Mateo Superior Court Judge Lisa Novak is now expected to make a ruling on Friday on whether the case will go to trial.
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.
During testimony for the prosecution, his wife, Yuka Nagaya, 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.
During cross-examination by the defense attorney, Yuka Nagaya had difficulty answering questions, saying that she didn't remember certain incidents or that she didn'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 and telling her not to name anyone, in particular the woman she accused her husband of having an affair with.
On Monday, the defense attorney questioned the wife’s dentist, who testified that he saw her several days after the incident in which Yoshiaki Nagaya allegedly knocked out her tooth. The dentist said he did not see any trauma to the inside of her mouth.
Junji Suzuki, the wife’s civil attorney, was also called to testify to alleged inconsistent statements made by Yuka Nagaya. Suzuki claimed that the statements were actually nuances of the Japanese language.
