u/Born-Adhesiveness893

I may be joining UTokyo as a self-funded research student, and I would like my spouse to come with me. I am trying to understand what is realistic in this situation. From what I have read, I am still unsure about a few points:

1. Is it realistic for a research student to have any income in Japan? Can I be paid by the lab or uni as an RA or in some other role?
2. If there is no guaranteed income, can I still obtain a dependent visa for my spouse if I have substantial savings?
3. Is it possible to arrange the COE for the student and the spouse at the same time when entering UTokyo? Or is the usual process that the student first comes to Japan and then applies for the spouse’s dependent COE afterward?
4. I have seen people say that it is better not to have the spouse enter first on a tourist visa and then try to switch later. Is that actually true in practice? I'm kinda anxious about being alone, especially at the beginning 😔

I'd appreciate any piece of information related and I'd like to understand the most realistic path in advance.