To add insult to injury, the Shermans proved a bit too roomy for the Japanese, whose small-statured army soldiers didn't quite carry the length of their American tank brethren to be able to reach the driving control pedals at a comfortable angle. Conversely, the M4 Sherman provided for a heftier alternative but it was essentially nearing the end of its usefulness in terms of technology. While the M24 was a good fit for the Japanese stature, its main gun armament proved inferior to anything it would have faced should the Korean War have spilled out of the peninsula. To help fill the ranks, the Allied powers brought with them American-made World War 2-era M24 Chaffee light tanks and M4A3E8 Sherman medium tanks. With the onset of war on the Korean Peninsula, the governing Supreme Commander of Allied Powers overseeing Japan's reconstruction and containment allowed for limited military development that would eventually become the basis for the Japanese Self Defense Force charged with the defense of the island and nothing more. As such, any sort of tank development in the post-war years was essentially non-existent until the arrival of the Korean War just a few short years away. Though Japanese tanks in World War 2 proved any but effective, all of Japan's facilities were scrutinized and disbanded from making war-related products for land, air or sea use. After the close of hostilities in World War 2, the Japanese Empire was rightfully stripped of all war-making capabilities that included their heavy arms industries.
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