Legal Question in Family Law in California

If the Japan marriage satisfied Japans legal requirements, then once you establish proper residency in California, you can pursue a divorce.

While Ms. Kock is correct that you have the option of filing for divorce once you move here and have lived here for six months to establish residency, that is far and away the hard way to do this. You will have to serve her with the divorce papers using the cumbersome Hague Convention process, and you will have serious issues of lack of personal jurisdiction over her in the California courts. If you can be fully and legally divorced in Japan under Japanese law, while both of you are resident in Japan, that divorce will be legally valid anywhere in the U.S. The only thing you need to make sure of is that the divorce resolves all issues of property division and support, if any, under Japanese law, and that if you jointly own any property outside Japan, that you take whatever steps are required in the jurisdiction where the property is located to complete transfer of ownership to whichever of you gets it.

I agree with Mr. McCormick, and disagree with Ms. Kock. California recognizes divorces from other jurisdictions, provided that the divorce complied with that jurisdictions laws.