It was produced in a number of locations: Its barrel was 487 millimeters (19.2 in), overall length 966 millimeters (38.0 in), and weight 3.3 kilograms (7.3 lb). Intended for use by cavalry, engineers, quartermasters and other non-frontline troops, the Type 38 carbine was introduced into service at the same time as the standard Type 38. military and the National Rifle Association found that the Type 38's receiver was the strongest bolt action of any nation and capable of handling more powerful cartridges. Post-war inspection of the Type 38 by the U.S. The Type 38 was fairly heavy, at about 4.25 kg. The rifle was even longer when the 400 mm (15.75 inches) Type 30 bayonet was fixed. The Type 38 at 1,280 millimeters (50.4 in) was the longest rifle of the war, due to the emphasis on bayonet training for the Japanese soldier of the era, whose average height was 160 centimeters (5 ft 3 in). However, while on par with the Norwegian and Italian 6.5mm military cartridges of the time, the 6.5×50mm was not as powerful as several others in use by other nations. This cartridge produces little recoil when fired. The Type 38 rifle used the 6.5×50mm Arisaka cartridge. However, not all units received the new weapon, and the mixture of types with incompatible cartridges led to considerable logistics issues during World War II. This new rifle used the more powerful 7.7×58mm Arisaka cartridge already in use with the Type 92 heavy machine gun and the Type 97 light machine gun. However, shortcomings in the Type 38 design during the Second Sino-Japanese War led to the introduction of a further generation of rifles, designated the Type 99 rifle from 1939.
The weapon was produced in several locations: Lieutenant General Arisaka Nariakira along with Kijiro Nambu undertook a redesign, which was introduced in 1906. These included bursting cartridges, a poorly-designed lock in which excess gunpowder tended to accumulate, burning the face of the shooter, frequent misfires, jamming, difficulty in cleaning, and cartridge extraction.
However, the weapon had numerous shortcomings, which were highlighted by combat experience in the early stages of the Russo-Japanese War. The Imperial Japanese Army introduced the Type 30 rifle in 1897.