page_title: Tanks in the Japanese Army
section_title: Type 2 Ke-To light tank
hierarchical_section_title: Tanks in the Japanese Army / Overview per tank / Type 2 Ke-To light tank
context_section_description: The Type 2 Ke-To Light Tank (二式軽戦車 ケト, Nishiki keisensha Ke-To) was developed by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II as an improvement on the existing Type 98 Ke-Ni. Development work on the Type 2 proceeded with an improved Type 1 37 mm gun in an enlarged turret. However, production did not commence until 1944, and by that date Japan was desperate for steel (largely due to US submarine warfare). This, combined with the American strategic bombing campaign that laid waste to the industrial infrastructure, which, when added to the IJN's priority for warship construction, made it clear to the military that the Type 95 light tank would maintain its precedence on the assembly lines. Although obsolete, the Type 95 was cost effective and very reliable. Only 34 Type 2 Ke-To tanks were completed by the end of the war. No Type 2 Ke-To light tanks are known to have engaged in combat prior to Japan's surrender.
caption: Type 2 Ke-To light tank
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