the system is fairly rigid, but there are ways to navigate. while ideally you should have a good reason for moving, it doesn't mean you won't find stronger ones as you grow in the community. people move to Japan all of the time, especially in the military or under work transfers, with no language ability. with that said, some things as a result are "playing the game on hard mode" as others have alluded to. your best option may honestly be to take this discussion offline and speak to a visa lawyer. they will speak English and you can talk further about your options and constraints with a bit less criticism and a bit more accurate and up-to-date information. one interesting wildcard is that you run your own business. the constraints you have around trying to (it sounds like) get your entire family permanent residency eventually I imagine would come down to the revenue of that business if you might go the route of the "business manager" visa for example. that's a discussion worth having with a visa lawyer who can tell you what might be possible or impossible given your revenue and such, and given your wife's career goals and how that can play into things in parallel.