Japanese infantry units are often overlooked, but they're actually some of the most adaptable in the game. Sure, they might not pack as much raw firepower as some other factions, but they make up for it with speed, mobility, and versatility. They shine in close-quarters combat and urban settings, where their agility and numbers allow them to outmaneuver and overwhelm enemies. The Japanese infantry accuracy is lower than average so they need to be close to hit anything.

Banzai Chargers - This squad is all about overwhelming the enemy. They're not great at holding positions or shooting accurately, but they make up for it with sheer numbers and cost 125 MP. You get 15 soldiers, and each one comes equipped with a grenade. Perfect for brute-force attacks on objectives, once they’ve thrown all their grenades, they’re basically human meat shields for your real defenders, more expensive squads. Just toss them into a hole or behind a building to soak up some bullets and add as a distraction.

Assault Section - This squad isn't much better than the Banzai Chargers, but for 140 MP they’re armed with SMG's and a bunch of grenades (2-4 per soldier), including anti-tank grenades. They excel at close-range combat, so they're great for storming enemy positions. They even come with a few smoke grenades, making them pretty cheap but effective when used right. They're okay for defense but still better on offense.

Regular Infantry (Both Squads) - More of your average squad, but still useful in certain situations. They come equipped with an MG (Type 99 for the 175 MP squad and Type 96 for the 170 MP squad) and an anti-tank rifle grenade (Which is not bad, but not reliable). Most of the squad is equipped with bolt action rifles and are good at picking off enemy infantry. They are useful for holding the line and can be used to set up defenses, they come equipped with shovels for sandbags/foxholes and carry a few landmines. They are not particularly effective in offensive situations since most of them carry a lot of equipment and have low veterancy, still more than squads listed above (Lowers their sprint duration). In general these are your screening troops, not the best, but can hold the line decently for the price.

Imperial Guard - This squad is a step above regular infantry. They’re well-rounded, equipped with plenty of landmines, a Type 4 bazooka, and they can dig foxholes or sandbags. They also carry anti-tank grenades, though they’re not always reliable. With 54 grenades total, they’re great for defense and holding key positions. They can also be used offensively but the bulk of the infantry don't have SMG's so they aren't an S tier squad for attacking. They’ve got decent veterancy and two Type 99 MG's, making them a solid pick when you need a versatile unit.

Takasago Section - Now we’re getting into elite territory. The Takasago Section is cheaper than the SNLF Marines but performs almost as well. They come with 2 Type 99 MGs and carry a bunch of explosives—2 anti-tank grenades, 4 regular grenades, and 2 sticks of dynamite per soldier. They have high veterancy and can really dish out some firepower, especially with their Type 99 MG's. Just a heads-up: buying this squad or anything better will put your paratroopers on a 15-minute cooldown, so paradrop before you buy this squad.

Teishin Paratroopers (Not Dropped) - These guys are decent but probably not worth it when you have better options like Takasago or SNLF Marines. They have camouflage kits that are pretty useless, and they’re not great for offense. With only grenades for anti-tank capabilities, you're better off avoiding this squad.

Paradropped Teishin Paratroopers - Once paradropped, these guys become one of the best units in the game. Every soldier in the squad carries two Type 3 anti-tank grenades, which explode on impact. While not the strongest grenades, they can be deadly against enemy artillery and mortars. With 15 soldiers, it’s easy to overwhelm an enemy artillery position in the back of the map. This squad is usually a one-way mission, but the trade-off is often worth it. They also spawn with landmines and half of them drop separately, so make sure you get them into position quickly. BEWARE, unless you're playing frontlines you can only drop once per game.

SNLF Marines - These are the top-tier Japanese elite infantry. While they may not quite match the German Fallschirmjäger's, they can still hold their own in battle. They come equipped with an SNLF Type 4 RPG, which is accurate and deadly, and two Type 99 MG soldiers. Each marine carries up to 4 frag grenades, 2 anti-tank grenades, and the machine gunners come with dynamite. These guys can hold your line exceptionally well, they also look cool as ♥♥♥♥.

• Japanese combat engineers and mine disposal experts are basically the same as every other nation.
  
  
• A downside is that you can't purchase an elite tank crew.
  
  
• All Japanese squads spawn with 15 men, the most per squad compared to every faction in the game.

Type 2 SMG - This is a solid SMG that you won’t find in any of the standard Japanese squads, so it’s a good pick if you need reliable firepower. The downside? It only comes with 2 veterancy, which isn’t great, but at least it comes with a smoke grenade.

Type 89 Mortar Infantry (Knee Mortar) - The famous Knee Mortar! At just 90 MP, it’s a budget-friendly option. While it’s not as powerful as it used to be, it’s still useful in the right situation. The blast isn’t huge, but it fires super fast, making it great for hitting tightly grouped infantry. Just be sure to have an infantry ammo crate nearby—you’ll burn through ammo quickly.

Kamikaze - The kamikaze is one of the most effective anti tank units in the entire game, meaning if you can get within throwing distance and blow yourself up, you will always destroy the target. It costs only 50 MP for two soldiers with magnetic mines and explosives on their body. The soldiers themselves have an invisible gillie suit on them, making it easy for them to sneak up on enemy tanks. They are also light on equipment and can sprint for good distances. Funny enough, they don't spawn with bandages, so if they get hit and are bleeding out, just send 'em in and hope you get lucky. It's important to note that you should press F2 and left click slightly away from the tank to prevent a glitch where the magnetic mine duds and doesn't destroy anything (50% of the time that is).

AT-Rifle Infantry - An AT-Rifle for Japan, with a range of 120m it's very effective at killing light vehicles and light armor. It's magazine fed and cost 100 MP, mostly depending on the faction you're facing you'll almost always want to get this.

SNLF AT Infantry - A bit pricey at 160 MP, the Type 4 RPG is one of the most effective shoulder fired rockets and can kill just about every tank in the game in 1-2 shots. You can buy the cheaper AT Infantry that cost 130 MP instead, but the accuracy is slightly diminished, although the range stays the same for both. It's also worth noting that SNLF Marine squad (The 325 MP one) will spawn with an AT soldier, so it might be worth just buying an entire squad.

Type 11 Machine gunner - An interesting machine gun as it takes rifle clips as ammo instead of a magazine or belt fed machine gun, only from the Type 38 rifle though. So you can pair this machine gunner with other infantry using the Type 38 Arisaka and they will share their ammo with this machine gunner. Just be careful because machine gunners shoot a lot. Also slightly cheaper than the other machine gunners at 32 MP.

Type 96 Machine gunner/Type 99 Machine gunner - A single magazine machine gunner for fairly cheap, 36 MP for each.

Imperial Guard Type 99 MG team - A small contingent of 4 above average units, three of them riflemen, and one Type MG. For 96 MP it's a pretty good purchase if you just need a machine gunner and some riflemen without buying the full squad. The riflemen carry some landmines and can dig foxholes/sandbags.

SNLF Type 99 MG team - Another small contingent of 4 elite units, three of them riflemen, one a Type 99 MG man. It's a useful purchase if you want some marines without paying for the full squad. This is a good second buy, 123 MP, if the first buy is suicide chargers (And assuming you win the first engagement of the game). Although it's more efficient to just purchase the entire marine squad for 325 MP instead. What's better about this unit compared to the Imperial Guard MG team is that the riflemen actually carry 3 extra magazines for the machinegun each, so 9 more magazines in total.

Flamethrower Infantry - A Japanese flamethrower unit costing 75 MP and comes with a single SMG bodyguard.

Type 97/99 Sniper - The Japanese snipers are not the best in the game, but they have gillie suits and cost very little. The Type 97 Sniper only costs 40 MP, making sniper spam a thing (If you can afford the CP). You can load up an area with 2-4 snipers can slow down and even halt enemy infantry pushes. However, sicne they're Japanese they sometimes they miss every shot, so don't rely on this. The Type 99 Sniper has the exact range, fire rate, and everything as the Type 97 Sniper, and the only difference is accuracy at a distance. The 99 costs 60 MP and will likely result in similar amounts of kills as the 97 Sniper. A HUGE downside to these snipers is snipers cost 5 CP each.

Type 97 - It's a motorcycle with a machinegun on it, similar to all other factions.

Isuzu Mortar - A type 97 mortar on wheels, it's decent, but it's bugged and cannot be repaired. It will literally be considered completely destroyed and all your men will get out if the tire pops. It spawns with a decent amount of ammo already in the truck and is slightly cheaper than the normal mortar costing 350 MP instead of 390 MP. Also becomes available a little sooner than the base mortar.

Ho-Ha - A not very good transport vehicle...it does spawn with 3 mounted Type 99 MG's which face forward, left, and right, but can only hold 6 men and is a pretty big target. Also the men of the machine guns are very exposed and will almost always die before getting off more than 5 rounds. It doesn't even spawn with a bazooka like the American half track.

Supplies - Like all other factions, there are ammo trucks, ammo boxes, and a truck with defense building equipment and such.

20mm Type 2: - This is a powerful gun that is great for destroying light tanks and infantry. It's a good investment and is available early on in the game. It doesn't give good cover for the guns operator, but for some reason this thing just does not die, it literally will not be destroyed and always be repairable unless it takes a direct hit that cuts the gun off the top of it, it only costs 180 MP.

Type 97 Mortar - Probably the best mortar for Japan. It fires quickly, has a range of 275m, and it only needs infantry ammo. It can be very effective in holding your line but suffers on precision, it does have a good explosive radius though. For the most part it's considered a must-have when playing as Japan. It does lack white phosphorus shells and isn't particularly good at counter mortaring because it doesn't like to hit where you're aiming, it's always slightly off.

150mm Type 97 Mortar - This is an expensive mortar with a range of 275m, costing 590 MP. It's not purchased very often, but it can do amazing things. Because of its 150mm size, it can occasionally destroy enemy tanks with one hit, it will automatically target enemy tanks and you'll see this thing kill a tank every now and then. It has a high explosive radius and can also deploy a sandbag wall covering all 340 degrees of it.

200mm Type 4 - This thing is hit or miss, if it hits...it hits hard, its range is 255m and it's accuracy is pathetic. Unless you're trying to randomly hit in a large area, this thing isn't recommended. The infantry wheeling this thing around are really fast, so you can shoot and scoot pretty easily with this.

75mm Type 90 - This anti-tank gun is cheap at 300 MP and can be difficult to hit because of its small size. It can also deploy a sandbag wall in front of it, which can help against enemy infantry fire. It's great for destroying medium and light tanks but will struggle with heavier tanks such as the IS-1 or KV, although it can kill those too.

Type 41 75mm Mountain Gun - This is an expensive gun at 360 MP, and it's the only Japanese weapon with white phosphorus other than the 150mm artillery piece. It has a range of 180m and can fire indirectly up to 300m away. It's an alright, but expensive, buy because you can purchase it so early in the game. The HE on this thing is basically useless, the explosive radius is less than a grenade.

75mm Type 4 AA - This is Japan's best anti-tank gun, with a range of 230m it slaps everything. However, buying the special point ones instead is probably a better idea because they have a range of 250m, come with two of them, have an elite crew, and have the special ammo that gives more penetration. They are expensive (For Japan at least) and easy targets to destroy if targeted, protect them and they will protect you.

105mm Type 91 - Japan doesn't have access to the long-range heavy mortars that the USSR and Germany have, but they do have the 105mm Type 91. It's a fairly cheap artillery piece at 500 MP, small in size, and fires quickly. It's effective against heavy mortars and shorter-range artillery and can also bombard areas with high volumes of infantry.

Ho-Ni 2 - The same as the 105mm Type 91, but is mobile and costs 650 MP instead of 500 MP. Really good for countering enemy artillery as it's very mobile. Typically a much better purchase than the normal 105mm, if you play against an enemy using a lot of mortars and artillery, get this to counter it all.

Ha-To - This is Japan's best anti-tank option for heavier vehicles with longer ranges. It has a range of 265m and is very effective at destroying whatever you hit. It's a fast vehicle, so the shoot n' scoot tactic works well with it. It can sometimes be a little inaccurate, but comes with plenty of ammo and out ranges all tanks so just hide it from artillery and you'll be fine.

Type 92 - A light vehicle that costs only 160 MP. It's equipped with a 360 degree rotating machine gun turret, and fixed machine guns on the left and right sides, as well as the front. It's relatively fast and has that "X factor" that allows it to survive longer than you might expect. This vehicle is particularly useful for taking out infantry, but if there's any anti-tank (AT) equipment around, it's unlikely to survive for very long.

Ha-Go - The Ha-Go is one of the fastest vehicles in the game, and while it doesn't offer much protection, its speed makes it difficult for enemy tanks to hit. You can think of it as the shock trooper of the light tank world. It can handle infantry fairly well, with a rear-facing machine gun and a fixed frontal-facing machine gun, as well as a 37mm cannon. However, it's vulnerable to weapons like the 50 cal, and it's probably the worst option for taking out other tanks, even other light tanks. It's possible to drive right up to the side of a Sherman and shoot into its flat side, which usually destroys your Ha-Go too from the resulting explosion. Overall, it's a decent vehicle, especially for rushing into enemy back lines and creating havoc.

SS-D - The SS-D lacks range, but makes up for it with 350 degree coverage of flamethrowers and fixed forward and right-facing machine guns. If placed in a good position, it can effectively lock down an entire area. However, its lack of range means it's vulnerable to longer ranged vehicles, including longer ranged flame tanks like the wasp which can burn your SS-D out before you can even drive within range.

Chi-Ha 120 - If you're looking for an anti-tank option, the Chi-Ha 120 is your best choice. It's a bit pricey at 500 MP, but it can one-shot almost anything, including Churchill and KV/IS tanks. The HEAT shell isn't very useful and typically I drop them on the ground as soon as I spawn one in. It doesn't have the greatest range , being at 190m, but it can shoot over hills, so if you position it behind a hill, it's really hard for enemies to hit you while you can still hit them with your 120mm shots. On a map with a good spot, this tank is necessary, also good at bombarding objectives to rid them of infantry. Usually you'll just buy the Marine tank for 4 SP instead of using your MP.

Chi-Nu - The Chi-Nu is a pretty good tank, especially with the most recent RobZ update that gave Japanese tanks better armor-piercing ammunition. It's not too expensive at 370 MP and it's essentially the Japanese version of the Sherman, but with less armor and a worse coaxial machine gun. Also it's really tiny making it hard to hit.

Chi-To - I usually go for the SP Chi-To, but since the RobZ 1.28.4 update, the Chi-To has become a pretty damn good tank. It's a bit pricier at 575 MP, but it has a longer range of 230m and spawns with experimental ammo that performs really well. The SP version spawns with a lot more special ammo then this version, which only spawns with 5 rounds.

Chi-Ri - The Chi-Ri is pretty expensive at 650 MP, but it has an autoloader and a really good gun. It's a pretty big target and the 37mm and coaxial machine guns aren't that effective. But since the autoloader loads three shells at a time, missing your first shot isn't as bad because you can reload quickly for the first three shots. It's armor is pretty bad and will blow up spectacularly if it gets hit.

Ho-Ni 3 - It costs 400 MP, which isn't too bad, but its armor is quite weak and can be penetrated by the SG-43 and DS-39, both of which can also damage the gun. It does have the same gun as the Chi-Nu, but given its poor armor, I wouldn't recommend buying it unless you have no other options. Even then, I would suggest using special points to obtain it instead so you don't have to spend any MP on this thing.

Type 5 Ho-Ri Production - The Type 5 Ho-Ri Production tank is one of the most consistently reliable Japanese tank destroyers. Its armor is sturdy enough to block some shots, and its gun is excellent with a range of 250m. Additionally, it also has a 37mm gun that can be used for taking out infantry. However, it is quite expensive at 1400 MP. Moreover, the version of this tank that you can get through special points is a better option as it only costs 12 SP. So, while the Type 5 Ho-Ri Production is a great tank, I would still advise against buying it and suggest using special points to obtain it instead, but only if you REALLY need it.

SS-D - Only costing 2 SP you can literally just spam the crap out of these. Mainly depending on the map, you will almost always be using one of these as soon as you can buy one, either to clear your side or to place in a cheeky spot.

2x Elite Type 4 75mm AA - These are the 75mm AA AT guns you could normally buy except they have a range of 250mm and significantly better accuracy. The auto targeting and loading the correct ammo has been fixed on this. If you play on a very flat map these are your best bets for AT.

Marine Tank - This is essentially a Chi-Ha 120 but costs only 4 SP instead of the regular 500 MP. It's a good option for those who want a tank without spending too much MP. Remember to drop the HEAT shells when it spawns in. If you want to win you'll be buying this almost every game.

Banzai - This purchase spawns semi-elite infantry and 2 Japanese tanks. It's a fun purchase and unique, but not very practical. The Teishin paratroopers that come with this purchase only spawn with rifles, with no SMGs or MGs. The 2 tanks that spawn with it are also garbage.

200mm Rocket - This unit costs 6 SP and is a good purchase if you don't want to spend MP for it. However, it's not as good as it used to be and typically you'll avoid this.

Chi-To With Experimental Ammo - This tank is similar to the regular Chi-To, but it spawns with 45 experimental ammo shots instead of just 5. This is a good option for those who want to minimize micro-managing between ammo types, also cost 8 SP instead of MP.

Ho-Ri Prototype - This tank is similar to the Ho-Ri Production, but it costs only 12 SP, which is a great deal for the best Japanese tank available. It's recommended to save up SP for this purchase if you're playing against lots of long range heavy tanks or tank destroyers.