Fatal tank blast could pause Japan’s Type 10 orders

Japan’s Ministry of Defense is considering leaving the Type 10 main battle tank out of its fiscal 2027 budget request, after a shell exploded inside one of the tanks in April and killed three soldiers, according to Japanese defense newspaper Asagumo.

Gen. Masayoshi Arai, chief of staff of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, disclosed the plan at a regular press conference on Sept. 15, the newspaper reported, adding that Arai will make the final call based on the findings of the accident investigation, which have not yet been released. The ministry has not said how many Type 10 tanks it had planned to request funding for, how much money is involved, or whether purchases would resume once the investigation is complete.

The accident happened at about 8:40 a.m. on April 21 at the Hijudai Training Area in Oita Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu, when a 120 mm high-explosive anti-tank round detonated inside the turret of a Type 10 during a live-fire exercise. The blast killed the tank commander, the gunner and a safety officer riding in the tank, and seriously injured the driver. The tank normally carries a crew of three, but four soldiers were aboard because of the safety officer.

The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force halted all firing training with the Type 10, including blank rounds, the same day, and stopped live-fire training on the older Type 90 tank with the same type of ammunition. An accident investigation committee was set up at Western Army headquarters in Kumamoto, and Arai has said Type 10 firing will not resume until it finishes. Investigators have been examining radio logs, the vehicle and the ammunition, with Japanese media reporting that the electrical firing circuit that sets off the round is a key focus. In June, the Type 10 took part in the Fuji Firepower Review near Mount Fuji, Japan’s largest annual live-fire demonstration, but did not fire its main gun.

Built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the Type 10 is Japan’s newest tank and entered service in 2012. It weighs about 44 metric tons (48.5 tons), lighter than the Type 90 so it can move more easily on Japan’s roads and bridges, and carries a 120 mm smoothbore gun fed by an autoloader that can fire NATO-standard ammunition. Explosions of a round inside a Japanese tank’s turret are extremely rare, and the last comparable case in Japan dates back to the late 1970s.

The Ministry of Defense submitted its fiscal 2027 budget request at the end of August, and Asagumo did not say whether the Type 10 was already left out of that document or whether the ministry is still weighing a later change.