I'm a noob in airlines and I've recently got a new job that will let me fly around the world quite a bit, mostly Asia.
Being French but living in Japan, what I'd like is to get discounted (or free) tickets Tokyo-Paris from times to times to enjoy for holidays.
But I'm also interested in having a status for the convenience of priority boarding and lounge access stuff.

I initially thought that SkyTeam would be the thing for me, mostly because I was focused into the AirFrance FlyingBlue program.
I initially asked there.
The general opinion on the AF forum is that "SkyTeam is not a great idea for someone based in Asia, look into *A or OW programs".

Based in Tokyo (Narita or Haneda doesnt matter much), so I'll fly from there. Main destinations will be Korea (Seoul Gimpo), China (Shanghai), Singapore, Australia (Sydney), but could be also in other SE Asia countries. Occasionally, domestic flights within Japan.
Schedule for flying is at least 1-2 roundtrips per month, up to 3-4 in case of heavy schedule. When booking, I can have a selection of 3-4 airlines, but my company will usually go for the most economic choice. Good thing is I can try to fit everything in a single loyalty program.
Japan has 2 national carriers, however, I will not be flying ANA or JAL (the 2 national JP carriers) particularly often, because they tend to be more overpriced than competitors on short/medium distance flights, and my company will not be willing to pay into this.
Because I'll fly quite a lot in Economy, I believe it's better to fly directly with the carrier and not with partners within the same alliance if I can avoid it (miles accrual is generally lower).

Looking a bit into *A programs, I'd tend to go for Asiana Airlines for 2 reasons:
1/ the miles accrual is based on 2 years from enrollment (and not 1 like most carriers), gives more time to reach status - moreover the targets of 20k/40k miles are quite realistic given my flight schedule
2/ they tend to be cheaper than competitors, thus I'm more likely to fly on them

Any insights from more experienced (asian) flyers ?
Thanks a lot!