The Arisaka rifle can pick off a target 1,000 yards away. The Zero has already proved its value in air combat. The Nell and Betty torpedo bombers prove to be outstanding machines. Japanese warships' lookouts have night vision that outranges American radar. By comparison, the Allied forces are hopelessly unprepared.
Filipino troops lack steel helmets, entrenching tools, blankets, and helmets.
Many wear cardboard sneakers instead of boots. The 194th Tank Battalion of the Texas National Guard, sent to the Philippines, isn't given 37mm ammunition for its tanks until the Japanese are on top of them. The British in Malaya don't have a single tank. Many troops have never seen one. Aside from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, most British troops are untrained and ill-equipped for jungle warfare.