Study is pretty easy (assuming the borders open) - anyone can do that tomorrow by joining a Japanese language school. Of course, you have to… actually study and do classes, so it’s not a free pass.

Work visas do depend on finding an employer - I do know of several people who worked for multinational corporations and asked to be transferred to the Japan office.

There’s also the option to self sponsor a work visa by running a business in Japan, though it does have capital requirements and is a little tricky.

A few cities have startup visas now, which give you a year or two to meet the capital requirements.