Married in the US, remarry in Japan?

Hello,

I'm a Canadian living temporarily in the US with my Japanese wife. We got married in the US as temporary residents. We want to move to Japan but because neither of us is a US Citizen, it seems to be easier to just ignore the US marriage and re-marry in Japan for visa/residency purposes.

Can this be done? Would it be against the rules to marry the same woman in Japan when we're already married in a third country (meaning, not her country and not mine either)

You are legally married in one country (and that is recognised in other countries), so you cannot simply ignore that. Yes, against the "rules" (law).

If she is a Japanese citizen and you are married (no matter where) should that not give you the spouse visa anyway? Why would you need to consider remarrying in the first place?

she had to register the marriage in Japan, when you got married. she can do it through Japanese embassy in USA.

There was another thread that goes back a few years, but what I answered under "AK" then remains the same today of course. You don't marry twice, but instead you register your US marriage after-the-fact to the Japanese authorities.

If you got married in the US, the Japanese national needs to report the change in her marital status to the Japanese authorities, either throuh (1) embassy of Japan in that country , or (2) to the city hall in Japan.

(The original question in the following thread mentions some documents that are needed to get married in Japan, so don't get confused by the list. Please read my responses.)

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+164869

Sorry I posted the wrong thread! The following is the correct one:

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+135129

Even when you married you need to go to a procedure.
Marriage doesn't mean you will get a visa or right to stay in Japan