I wouldn't get too optimistic with award seat waitlists clearing with ANA. Much better chance of upgrades clearing than outright awards.
I booked a C award seat for SIN - HND - SIN back in September for flights later this month. HND - SIN was available immediately, but SIN - HND was waitlisted. As a DIA + NH MM, I thought this would be no problem because only 2 seats were taken on the seatmap, 1A and 2F (usually blocked anyways), and this was 7 months out!
However, since I remained waitlisted and prospects did not look bright (2 weeks before my flight, C had 8 seats available and 16 waitlisted), I swapped the SIN - HND leg to a flight in the future and booked a one-way between SIN - HND via ICN.
I assume I was
#1 or
#2 on that waitlist, but ANA didn't seem to care. I had the Diamond desk inquire with a supervisor in Japan, if it could be pushed manually, but the answer was 'no'. Apparently, they have a program that clears upgrades now based on a slew of assumptions. Up until few years ago, this was all done manually.
Once waitlisted on ANA, you're waitlisted. They don't differentiate between award seats and upgrades, but the caveat is award seat waitlists expire 2 weeks before your flight, so you better have some contingency plans or be flexible with dates.
ANA won't tell you where you rank in the waitlist, but they will tell you how many people are waitlisted. If you are DIA, MM, or a combination, it's safe to assume you're near or at the top. Some phone agents will hint at how high up you are on the waitlist.
The seatmap does not necessarily indicate open seats. Some seats are booked, but people haven't assigned their seats yet. I believe there's a higher tendency of this happening when booking with a third party or corporate travel like AMEX. It's always wise to call and ask how many seats are available, how many seats are they selling, at what fare, and how many award seats or upgrades have already been redeemed.
Hope this helps!!