1-Year Visa vs. 3-Year Visa?
 

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IIRC they will issue you a 1 year visa 2-3 times before they even consider giving you a 3 year visa. From the sound of it the majority leave after the first 1-2 years anyway.

But this is someone who has never dealt with visas herself (I have Japanese citizenship) and have just read other people's experiences.

Whether to do a one year or a three year seems to be entirely at the discretion of the staff member issuing your visa.

I got a one year visa the first time I came to Japan to study abroad (for one year).

When I came the second time to work, I got a three year visa. It may be that I got the three year because I had had a one year visa before (albeit, not in the same category and I also wasn't renewing my visa within Japan as the first visa was expiring). There's also a very (small) chance that I got the three year because my company was a fairly large one. One other possibility, however, is because of the consulate I went through. I have no concrete data, but I remember that it seemed like a lot of people who went through the Chicago consulate to get their visa got three year ones, while people who went through other consulates all had one year visas.

Anyway, the new visa system will be rolling out within a year (I think?), at which point it will be possible to get up to a five year visa (discounting permanent resident visas and the like).