about visa extension

hello, i would like to know if i have a chance to extend my 1 year long term visa to 3 yrs or permanent visa. changed my visa from spouse to long term since my husband died last year. i am currently working in japan and i have to have another extension before it expires by May 29th.

changed my visa from spouse to long term since my husband died last year.

What is a "long term" visa? I have never heard of it. A working visa?

If you are still working, you can simply extend the visa by going to the immigration office. But you can't do so before March 29th, I believe, as extension requests are not handled earlier than two months before expiration date.

After that you could also try to apply for permanent residence if you think you have a chance of getting it. However, since the process of becoming permanent resident is time consuming (typically half a year, I think), you will have to extend your visa first, in any case.

Do you have children with your late husband? If yes, then your chances of getting your long-term visa extended is very high. Even if you don't have children you probably can still get it. If they gave it to you once then they'll probably give it to you again. That's just my guess.

Uji, I guess they mean "Long Term Resident" visa:

From the immigration website:
Long-term Resident - 3 years, 1 year, 6 months, or a designated period of less than 3 years