How can I live in Japan permanently?

I'm interested in moving, and living in Japan permanently, but I don't know the first thing about moving there. I'm currently studying the language and have had great interest in moving there for quiet some time now, I just have no clue on how to go about it. i Want to know as much as I can before making the jump to move there . I'd love to study the language even further and i know i can get a student visa for that but i also know that it does not equate to full time living there. I've read up on the work visa and i have experience in construction and retail but I don't know if that's enough to qualify for a work visa. After the visa expires though how could become a full time resident? Any suggestions?

Get a university degree and skills that are needed in Japan, or marry a Japanese national.

You probably ought to use the possibility of a student visa to actually live in Japan for a few months as living and working in Japan is not easy and it might be completely different from what you have imagined even if you visited Japan as a tourist already.
You won't be the first to return after a year completely disillusioned.

It is very difficult. Japan does not welcome people easily, and if you take the English teaching route, you might note some errors in your post.

Basically, have skills in demand, find some one to employ you (or self employ) for a decade and then apply for PR. Have money, patience and ability.

i wasn't planning on doing a a work visa for teaching English. I guess I'm wondering if its possible to get a work visa for retail or construction and if I'm able to study abroad there without being in college here in the US?

How would I find employment over there before being there? If you have any suggestions, I'm open to all of them.

Retail and construction are not career fields for which Japanese companies need to import staff, they can readily get them from what is available in country through Japanese nationals or those who have eligible working visas. Unless your skills are not readily available, such as a specialty in some type on construction, they won't bother with sponsoring you. Forget retail sales; they'll only hire in country.

I kind of figured that about retail and construction. I guess my next question would be then in that case what are Japanese companies looking for and how do I go about qualifying for such positions.I also want to say thanks for responding so quickly thanks to all who have replied i have so many questions about this subject because I'm very interested in going forward with this.

The easiest way would be for you to get hired by an American company (in the US) that has offices in Japan and transferring there. As for finding a sponsor, you can try going to Japan on a temporary visitor status and try to get hired while you're there, but you'd have to change the status of your stay there before you can work.

The only problem i have is that i live in a rural part of the state of michigan so there aren't really any companies around me that would have offices in japan but im planning on going back to college to get my bachelors in either computer science or business management i know this whole moving to japan isnt going to be easy nor is going to be quick which is why ive now decided to go back to college and get my degree im just curious now if there would be any companies that you guys could suggest that might have the possibility of getting a sponsorship and how can i turn that sponsorship into a pr?

I think it's best to ask when you're close to getting your Bachelor's degree. The job market may change from now until then, so what may be in demand now, may not be so in demand then. In addition, the same thing goes with the companies that may hire you. No point in looking now for a job they need to fill immediately. As for what's in demand, there are numerous other threads about people wanting to move to Japan in the very section your question is located. Please look that them as they may answer many of your questions.

Ok i shall do that then thank you so much for helping me answer some of my question i just have one more question for now and that is about the degree im going to be getting are those jobs typically in demand?

I would assume so, as well as IT. I don't know exactly what the job market is like, since my intention with Japan is strictly tourism and social.

ok thank you for all your help john youve been very informative with the questions ive asked you i will be doing more research on this subject and will be getting my degree then ill be seeking employment over there and again thank you so much for your help!!

Retail and construction are not career fields for which Japanese companies need to import staff, they can readily get them from what is available in country through Japanese nationals

Actually, there is a severe shortage of construction workers in Japan. Companies, big and small, are forced to import workers from overseas because they can't find enough workers locally. However, I think they can only import workers from designated countries such as China, Vietnam, Philippines, etc.

You could do what I did and graduate from a Japanese school. If you do that then you can work in pretty much any field as long as there would be a reason for hiring you over a Japanese person (ex: fluency in a desired language like Chinese or English on top of having a Japanese level of N2 and above).

I studied at a Japanese language school for 2 years to get my N1, then at a technical school for another 2 years in International Business Management and got hired by a real estate company upon graduation. I have a specialist in humanities visa (like 99% of the foreigners working in Japan) and I'm going to apply for the Japanese nationality in a couple more years. (only 4.5 years to apply while PR is 10)

Ok I have one more question if I were to receive permanent residence in Japan and someday have children will they be considered Japanese citizens or will I have to apply for citizenship for them? I'm only asking because I've heard stories that even if you have pr/citizenship that doesn't translate to your children and they could be deported. Now I don't know if these stories are true or if it's the fact that neither parent is Japanese how does this work?

Japan doesn't award citizenship for simply being born in the country. If neither parent is Japanese, the child won't receive Japanese citizenship.