Claim: Mitsubishi gave the task of designing the new fighter to Joji Hattori, the result was a single-bay biplane of wooden construction and was designed by an American designer Herbet Smmith.
Evidence: The standard carrier-based fighter of the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1926 was the Mitsubishi 1MF or Navy Type 10 Carrier Type Fighter, designed in 1921 by the ex-Sopwith British designer Herbert Smith. Mitsubishi gave the task of designing the new fighter to Joji Hattori, who had worked with Smith on the design of the Type 10.