5 best Japanese tanks in War Thunder

Like their French counterparts, early Japanese tanks in War Thunder are underwhelming. But when you get to around 4.0, the tanks start getting decent, and then at top-tier, the Japanese have some of the best tanks in War Thunder. The tech tree mostly comprises Japanese-designed vehicles, but there are a few American ones in the mix.

In this article, we will look at the five best Japanese tanks in this premier vehicle combat MMO.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the writer's opinion. Premium or event vehicles have not been taken into account.

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What are the five best Japanese tanks in War Thunder?

1) Chi-Ri II

The Chi-Ri II in War Thunder (Image via Gaijin Entertainment)

The Chi-Ri II is a World War II-era Japanese medium tank. It sits at Rank III, Battle Rating 5.0. It has average mobility and mediocre armor, but at its BR, it can bounce various shots.

When it comes to firepower, it is equipped with two cannons. One is a turret-mounted 75 mm cannon that can fire three shells from its ready rack with a reload speed of 4.3 seconds. It has enough penetration to kill most enemies you will face. The second cannon is a hull-mounted 37 mm cannon, which is only effective against light targets.

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2) M47

The M47 is an American-designed tank (Image via Gaijin Entertainment)

The M47 is a Rank V, BR 7.3 medium tank in the Japanese tech tree. It is an American design with decent mobility. The armor on the tank is very good and can bounce a lot of conventional APCBC rounds.

The tank is equipped with a 90 mm M36 cannon that can fire solid shots, APHE, as well as HEAT-FS, giving the tank extremely good firepower against every tank it faces.

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3) Ho-Ri Production

The Ho-Ri Production in War Thunder (Image via Gaijin Entertainment)

The Ho-Ri Production is a tank destroyer that sits at Rank V, Br 7.3. Even though it is quite heavy, it has good mobility. The armor is very effective and can survive hits from a lot of conventional APCBC and APHE rounds.

The 105 mm Type 5 cannon can fire APHE and HE shells. The APHE round can penetrate up to 233 mm of armor, which is quite decent for its BR. All in all, the Ho-Ri Production is a well-rounded tank destroyer that you can research in the Japanese tree.

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4) Type 16

The Type 16 is an eight-wheeled light tank (Image via Gaijin Entertainment)

The Type 16 is a modern Japanese wheeled light tank that sits at Rank VII, BR 9.7. It is extremely fast and can quickly flank enemy positions and catch them off-guard. Although lightly armored, it gets access to active scouting and scout drones.

This light tank is equipped with a 105 mm JSW cannon, which can fire various types of shells. The Type 93 APFSDS shell, that it gets access to, can penetrate up to 405 mm of armor. That is enough firepower to take down every vehicle that you can come across in its BR bracket.

Also, the commander, gunner, and even the driver get access to good thermal sights, which makes spotting enemies even easier.

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5) TKX

The TKX is the best MBT in the Japanese tree (Image via Gaijin Entertainment)

The TKX is the top-tier MBT of the Japanese tech tree in War Thunder. It sits at rank VIII, BR 11.7, and is very similar to the Type 10. The Type 10 falls just a bit behind the TKX because of its weaker armor. The TKX is very mobile and gets access to pneumatic suspension.

The tank is equipped with a 120 mm TKG cannon, which can fire APFSDS shells, capable of penetrating up to 615 mm of armor. This kind of armor penetration means that it has one of the best APFSDS shells in the game.

On top of that, the TKX gets a four-second autoloader, which makes it a very dangerous tank to face. Just like the Type 16, all three crew members get access to good-quality thermal sights.

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