"Rising Tons: The Development Of Japanese Tanks 1919 To 1939" Topic

"Following the success of tanks in the First World War, Japan, like many other nations, took an interest in this new technology. Initially they purchased a variety of designs from Britain and France. The first Japanese tank forces was established in 1925 with one British Heavy Mk IV tank, six Medium Mark A Whippet tanks, and thirteen French Renault FT tanks. In the late 1920s and early 1930s further British and French designs were added to this arsenal.

Medium Tanks
These designs inspired the first native Japanese designs, which keeping with the traditions of the Japanese military they served in the infantry support role, rather than the cavalry breakthrough role of the European tradition.

In 1929, the Type 89 (1929) tank was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Initially it started life as a light tank design, but was re-designated a medium tank once its weight had gone over 10 tons. Production of the Type 89 began in 1931 and it became the main tank of the Imperial Japanese Army. The Type 89 entered combat in Manchuria in 1931, and saw action during the battle of Shanghai in 1932, all against various Chinese forces. It fought strictly in the infantry support role where its 15mm of armoured protected it from small-arms fire and its short 57mm Type 90 gun proved effective at knocking out Chinese machine-guns nests. It continued to be used in China throughout the 1930s…"

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