Highly Skilled Professional Visa Eligibility – income calculation question.

Hello,

A few days ago, I received a full-time (正社員) job offer from a company in Tokyo with a base salary of around 10 million yen, plus a bonus starting from the second year. So, I was considering applying for the Highly Skilled Professional visa. The company will take care of the whole visa process.

Here’s a bit about my background:

1. I’m 36 years old with a 4-year bachelor’s degree from a Canadian university
2. I have 8 years of work experience in finance -this is debatable – maybe 5 years to 8 years to be safe
3. The job offer is in the same field as my experience
4. My university is ranked within the top 200 globally
5. I hold JLPT N2 –
6. Currently residing in Canada, only been to Japan for 3 days two times.

So with the income requirement I would qualify, however without it I would not.

My cheerful friend ChatGPT tells me I should qualify, but I’m still a bit skeptical.
Would a signed job contract be accepted as valid proof for the income category points? Or would it be safer to apply for a regular work visa first and switch to the highly skilled visa later?

Thanks in advance for any insights!