The Verdict: Clear Path
You can move to Japan as the spouse of a Japanese national; that is the first step and every other benefit counts from it. Your spouse, or someone in Japan for you, applies for a certificate of eligibility, which you then take to a Japanese consulate.
Japan gives no citizenship by marriage and nothing to a spouse living abroad. Every concession is measured in time lived in Japan: naturalisation needs three years there, or one year if you have been married three years. Years married abroad count towards the marriage side only.
The spouse status has no restriction on work, which is unusual and useful.
Make sure the marriage is reported to a Japanese municipal office or consulate so it appears on your spouse's family register (koseki). The application is built on that record.
Permanent residence currently needs three years of married life and one year in Japan. A revision announced for 1 October 2026 would raise the spouse concession for permanent residence to five years of marriage and three years in Japan. We could not confirm it had been formally published, so check the current rule before you rely on the shorter one.