Regular working visas and the points system are completely seperate systems.
It is true that if you have enough points on the highly skilled professional visa you can get permanent residence (PR) in only one year.
On a regular work visa you must have 10 years consecutive residence in Japan and "must hold the longest visa type available to you (for these purposes longest means 3 or 5 years)" (my rough translation).
I have consulted with an immigration lawyer on the topic of applying for PR with a 1 year visa and he confirms this.
Do you have any idea why they are giving you only 1 year renewals? Previously on an instructor visa I had no trouble getting a 3 year renewal -- even though I only had 1 year contracts at my employer. I wonder if it's because they see your employer as being risky (given that it's a startup). You might consider trying to get a job somewhere bigger (or trying to get a full time position) if you want to stay in Japan forever.
Hey do you have any links for the points system vs the work visa systems, that are in english for people that might be interested? Even japanese would be helpful as well.
Also, +1 for consulting with immigration lawyers. I employ/consult with one as well, and that's about the best information you can get, it's well worth the money (and usually the consultation is free) -- they're very unlikely to get the paperwork/process wrong.
It is true that if you have enough points on the highly skilled professional visa you can get permanent residence (PR) in only one year.
On a regular work visa you must have 10 years consecutive residence in Japan and "must hold the longest visa type available to you (for these purposes longest means 3 or 5 years)" (my rough translation).
I have consulted with an immigration lawyer on the topic of applying for PR with a 1 year visa and he confirms this.