Living abroad, would I be eligible for funding for PGCE

Hi, so I've been living in Japan for just over a year now and plan to return next summer and apply to do a PGCE.
Researching financing, I came across a rule that stated finance is only provided if one has lived in the UK for three years prior to the start date.
However upon further research I've found many people who said that they managed to prove their time abroad was temporary and thus received financing.
By the time I leave Japan I would have been living here for just over two years.
I have an instructor visa that is only for three years max.
My contracts were not automatically renewed, I had to interview each year to decide on whether I'd be recontracted.
The programme I applied under has a limit on how many years you can work on it, usually 3 years.
I can get my supervisor to write a letter stating my job here was always going to be temporary.
I also still have a UK bank account and my letters go to a UK address.
With all this in hand, would I have a strong case of proving my time here was only temporary?
If anyone has an experience with this or similar please let me know how it went.