Japan trainee visa restriction?

Question:

I was in Japan for one year till March, 2011 on a trainee visa. Now I’m back in my country. I want to go back to Japan, but the company I work for says that I cannot apply for an intra-company transferee visa or a work visa for one year (i.e. till March 2012) as I went earlier on a trainee visa. I am not sure if this is accurate information as I cannot find any such restriction mentioned in the VISA information of Japan govt. or any other website. So I would like to know if anybody has some idea about this.

Answer:

I think that it's simply the program's policy that the (Japanese) company had received you as a foreign trainee on one-year-program, and meant that you would not be eligible to "extend your visa", or "apply again", which makes sense. Imagine, if those companies on governmental program accepted the same foreign 'trainees' every year, it would not be fair. Those companies basically need workforce.
If you wish to work at the same company, you will be required to be an employee, nat a trainee. If you only want to go back to Japan to find a job, you will need to apply another work permit.
There should be various companies in various field that are engaged with those (governmental) exchange programs. The shortest way is, yes, you consult at Japanese Embassy in your country, specifying the program that you had been on.