Japanese diplomat in US gets year in jail for wife abuse

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A Japanese diplomat based in California and charged with abusing his wife has been sentenced to a year in jail and will start serving it in May, a newspaper reported.

Yoshiaki Nagaya, vice-consul at Japan's consulate in San Francisco, will spend a minimum of six months at a jail in nearby San Mateo, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Monday, quoting deputy district attorney Tricia Povah.

Nagaya had reached a plea deal in the case back in December. That reduced his maximum possible sentence from 20 years to just one year.

Nagaya, who is 33, had been charged with 17 felony offenses, 14 of domestic violence and three of assault, including stabbing his wife with a screwdriver and knocking out one of her teeth.