Japan’s modern Howa Type 20 – Service rifles from around the world

In 2020, Japan adopted the state-of-the-art assault rifle Howa Type 20. The Howa series of rifles has been in the hands of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces since 1964. It’s an interesting weapon for a unique military force. 

Following the end of World War II and the American occupation of Japan, the country experienced a period of demilitarization. However, as the Cold War raged and parts of Asia fell to communism, the Western approach to Japan shifted. 

Japan was rebuilt into a Western ally and, by 1954, established the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) with ground, maritime, and air branches.

The Howa Type 20 will replace the Howa Type 89 in service with all three branches. 

A look into the future 

The Howa Type 20 is a 5.56 caliber assault rifle with a short-stroke gas-piston system and a rotating bolt design. It uses standard STANAG magazines and has a three-position fire selector that offers safe, semi-automatic, and full-automatic fire. 

The short-stroke gas piston system has become the system of choice for modern assault rifles. Guns like the FN SCAR, the HK 433, the Beretta ARX, and many more rely on this gas system. It’s proven reliable and functions well with short barrels and suppressors. It is also adjustable, allowing suppressor use or adverse settings when the rifle is filthy.

Howa went with a two-stage trigger, which is interesting for a general-purpose assault rifle as they are typically used for match-grade rifles.

The Howa Type 20 has a 13-inch barrel, which is fairly short for modern military rifles but not absurdly so. With the stock fully extended, the gun’s overall length is 33 inches, and it weighs 7.7 pounds. 

The rifle isn’t anything different or radically innovative but follows the modern trend of assault rifles. It’s a high-tech, high-quality design that will serve the average Japanese soldier well. These systems are all very well-proven, and as long as the rifle is constructed well, it will be reliable, accurate, and easy to use. 

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The outside of the Type 20 

Externally the rifle is incredibly modern. It has all the modern flair we’d expect from a modern assault rifle, including a monolithic optics rail across the top of the gun. The handguard makes use of both Picatinny rails and M-LOK slots for direct accessory attachment. 

The stock design allows users to choose the length via incremental position changes. The stock can also be folded out of the way for transport and travel and appears to have a cheek rest for optics use. 

The safety, magazine release, and bolt lock are ambidextrous, and the charging handle can also be swapped to the right or left-hand side. 

Further, the weapon has a highly corrosion-resistant finish, which makes sense for an island country that focuses heavily on maritime defense. 

Accessories 

The Japanese have never been very progressive with sighting systems – tellingly, they had long retained the use of iron sights.

In the case of the Type 20, according to international sources, the Japanese plan to field a domestically produced 1-8 Low Power Variable Optic shortly. 

Soldiers have been seen with Howa Type 20s equipped with red dots and prism scopes. Some soldiers are willing to provide optics to complement the folding backup sights provided with the weapon. A common accessory seems to be a vertical foregrip, with the B&T Unigrip and integral bipod being very popular amongst Japanese troops. 

Some soldiers have attached lights to their weapons, but we have yet to see many laser aiming systems for use with night-vision devices. According to Howa, the Type 20 will be compatible with the Beretta GLX-160 40mm grenade launcher, but Sandboxx News hasn’t seen any of those fielded either. 

Most soldiers are using the Howa Type 20 with Magpul P-MAGs that are some of the toughest, most reliable magazines on the planet and an excellent choice for a modern rifle.

The Japanese also developed a new type of 5.56 for the rifle. This J-3 ammo is made from steel and red brass with a double-base powder charge. Its design allows for high velocity and long range with excellent light armor piercing potential. 

The future of the Howa 

An initial order of 3,283 rifles was fielded, and by the end of 2023, the Japanese Self-Defense forces had fielded 18,130. It’s been a fairly quick adoption, but the low number of rifles has called for a fairly high price with the total cost being over 23 million dollars. 

Overall, the Japanese Self-Defense forces have a cutting-edge rifle that will likely be capable of arming their soldiers for decades without issue. The Howa Type 20 may also be the first rifle the Japanese are willing to export as they’ve seemed to shift a bit on their strict no-hardware-export policy. 

Feature Image: Japanese soldiers wielding Howa Type 20s during amphibious operations as part of the SDF Joint Exercise 2023. (Japanese Ministry of Defense)

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