Japanese infantrymen involved in the bitter street-fighting that took place in Shanghai, 1937.  The men in the foreground seem to be examining a body of extensively-decayed human remains - though it is difficult to be certain from this image.  

In the near-foreground is a breach in a wall.  This technique is typical of heavy street fighting, in which breaches in walls between buildings are made to allow troops to advance along streets without exposing themselves to enemy fire. One example, close to my home, is that practiced by Irish Volunteer insurgents in Moore Street, Dublin, towards the end of the 1916 anti-British Rising.  It also seems to have been a major feature during the Battle of Stalingrad.  Best regards, JR.

Street fighting - Shanghai, 1937.

Group of dejected Japanese troops who chose surrender over suicide (or perhaps had no choice).

Japanese POWs

The Japanese military had been experimenting with semiauto service rifles for some time prior to World War II (most countries were, to some extent). There was some development of a Japanese Pedersen rifle, among others. The advent of the war cut most serious development efforts, as manufacturing capacity was needed to build the weapons that were already well-proven and in general use.

However, there was an attempt to copy the US M1 Garand rifle, which resulted in the Japanese Type 4 (often called the Type 5) rifle. It was a pretty thorough copy of the M1, but with a few distinctly Japanese touches, including the Arisaka-style sling swivels, front sight, and rear leaf sight (instead of the aperture used on the Garand). Instead of en-bloc clips, the Japanese opted for a 10-round internal magazine (in 7.7×58 semi-rim caliber), fed by standard 5-round stripper clips. Parts for about 200 of these rifles were made by mid 1945, though only a fraction of those were actually assembled into working guns.
