A JAPANESE man strangled his newlywed wife after she snooped on his mobile phone and discovered a pornographic image.

Hitoshi Kawakami choked his wife Kazuko last night at their apartment in a Tokyo suburb, said a police spokeswoman.

She died in hospital early today and police were preparing to charge the man with murder, Jiji Press and other news reports said.

The 28-year-old victim was playing with her husband's mobile phone while he was taking shower and found a pornographic image, which he received from a friend, press reports said.

The couple, who registered their marriage in February, fought over the image, and the husband strangled his wife.

He confessed to a friend, who later told police, the spokeswoman said.

one image? would really like to see the image