Good write up with plenty of detail, thanks for sharing.

The gap between highly skilled professional and regular worker seems to be a huge chasm. You can get PR in 1 year with enough points but you must wait 10 if you are a regular worker.

Also, to apply for PR on a regular work visa you must have a visa length longer than 1 year. This can effectively be used to block PR applications. I know someone who had been in Japan for 15 years who cannot apply for PR because of this rule. As the application is never even allowed to be made, these people do not show up in statistics about successful Vs rejected PR applications either