[Nyororin]

Well, impossible really, as there are no "permanent" working visas.

But I`ll assume you meant the normal 1 or 3 year type.

The only thing I'm a little afraid of is the piss poor criminal and court system Japan has but I might risk it.

Do you plan on being a criminal?
If not, the Japanese criminal and court system will play little (no) role in your life. People are not regularly arrested or detained as they are in the US - the risk of having an encounter with the law is very very low. The police simply don`t intrude into the lives of normal people to much of an extent.

I don't care about racism or no-gaijin-allowed places I just want a nice apartment and corner market and I'll be fine.

Unless you are trying to go to extremely seedy bars or sex-related shops... You`ll pretty much never encounter any of that sort of thing anyway.

Do you need to be hired before you immigrate to japan and get a working visa before you even step foot in japan?

Pretty much so, yes. There are a strict order of steps required for obtaining a visa.

Is it possible to come over as a tourist and then go on a bunch of interviews?

Not really. It can be done, I assume, but they`ll need to agree to hire you, do all the intensive paperwork for your visa, watch you leave the country and then wait for you to come back with a visa... A process that can take months. Visas take some time.

I won't be applying for low wage jobs, I'm an electrical engineer with a college degree and years of experience with a multinational corporation so my qualifications won't be in question.

Big question; Do you speak Japanese, and speak it well? (As in to the point that you would be perfectly fine using it for all your work related activities?)
If the answer is no - look for jobs with a company where you are that has offices in Japan. Forget job hunting with a Japanese company.

Companies that want English speaking employees and who don`t care about their Japanese skill hire outside of Japan. Those that hire inside Japan won`t be looking for skilled English speakers - they`ll be looking for skilled Japanese speakers. And as the economy isn`t exactly the greatest these days, there are more than enough skilled Japanese natives looking for positions. By looking for a job in Japan, you`d be competing with them... In a language you do not speak.

Also, does anybody know what pay is like in japan for gaijin? I'm wondering if I'm going to need to take a significant paycut because of my skin color.

There is no "gaijin pay scale" - if you have a job at a Japanese company in a normal position, you`ll be paid pretty much what everyone else is being paid. You may start out at a higher pay than average, as a company that would hire a foreigner and go through all the paperwork trouble of getting them is likely to be sure that they`re getting someone with major skills that make it work it... But I doubt you`ll see a pay cut.