A man who runs a non-profit organisation promoting motherhood in Japan has been arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife.

Shinji Morimatsu, 49, is the chairman of the Japan Mothers Society, which holds seminars on child-rearing and gives out a 'Best Mother' award every year.

A spokesman at the Matsuyama Higashi police station in western Japan accused Morimatsu of bashing his wife so severely last May that she spent months in hospital recovering from her injuries.

The spokesman alleged Morimatsu hit her around the head and face, then kicked her in the chest and abdomen as she lay on the floor.

"His wife reported the incident after she went to hospital on the day, and we tried to persuade her to file an official complaint," said the police official.

"Her reply at the time was: 'let me think about it.' Then in July she decided to file the report, so we started the investigation."

The wife also hinted that there had been previous incidents of domestic violence, the official said.

But Morimatsu has denied the claims and told police that although he and his wife had quarrelled, there had been no violence.

The couple have had no contact with each other since May and have no children, said the spokesman.

As chairman of Japan Mothers Society, Morimatsu is tasked with presenting the annual 'Best Mother' trophy, usually to a high-profile actress, in a blaze of publicity.

AFP