Full Visa to Japan

Would any of the basic construction trades e.g Plumbing, Joinery be enough to gain a full visa from England to Japan?

generally no

What on Earth is a "full visa"?

By the nature of the thread, he presumably means a resident visa that is not limited in nature (i.e. WHV, possibly a temporary visitor), but you knew that already...

Let's just say he's interested in a work visa (and yes, I know you'll probably take umbrage to calling it that).

Yes, I meant resident visa I just didn't know the correct terminology. Do you know what the minimum construction requirements would be then?

You don't get a visa (employer-sponsored work visa) before you find an employer in Japan. In the field of construction, I believe that you'd need 5 - 10 years of work experience in that area (special knowledge/skills that cannot be easily found among the locals in Japan), as well as you need to know the language to a working level, otherwise you would not be able to communicate with the supervisor or clients in Japan. And you need a job offer from am employer in Japan.

It is not possible to get a "work visa" for construction work, period. (Unless you include architecture or civil engineering in "construction work", but this seems to not be the case here.)

First things first, basic construction won't qualify for a work visa. You'd need special technical knowledge and years of work experience first, and then find an employer capable of sponsoring you. If that doesn't describe your skills then I think you may want to consider looking into other routes instead.