A Japanese man accused of killing his wife does not have to be in a Los Angeles courtroom when his attorney argues for the charges to be dismissed, a judge said May 9.

Kazuyoshi Miura, 60, is in custody in Saipan, a U.S. territory, where he was arrested in February. Authorities say he had his wife shot during a visit to Los Angeles in 1981. She died in Japan a year later, and in 1994 Miura was convicted of the murder in the United States; a Japanese court later overturned the verdict.

Los Angeles authorities, who first thought the Miuras were robbery victims, issued an arrest warrant for Miura in 1988 but were not able to arrest him until he went to Saipan earlier this year.