The Type 1 47mm AT gun was developed following the Japanese encounter with Russian armour and was the first indigenously developed dedicated anti-tank gun. It lacked the performance of other contemporary weapons of similar calibre, but was deemed sufficiently capable against lightly armoured tanks.

By the time it was introduced in 1942, it was therefore already outdated. The same gun was used as the main armament of the Type 97 Chi-Ha Shinhoto tank. It was also used by Japanese paratroops – dropped disassembled in separate containers.