Since being officially adopted by Japan's Ground Self Defense Force in 1961, the Type 61 tank has been in continuous service for more than 30 years. Although destined to be replaced by the sophisticated Type 74 and the newly introduced Type 90 tanks, it is still considered by many as the centrepiece of the Japanese Self Defense Forces. Designed from the outset to carry a 90mm main gun, the tank also had to be able to traverse the narrow railways throughout Japan. The result was a very compact medium tank, with a low profile that is only 2.96m wide and 2.46m high, and weighing 35 tons.

Its 90mm gun was produced by the Japan Steel Works, Ltd., using the renowned U.S. type M3A1 gun as a pattern. The gun is mounted in a cast steel turret, and elevated either manually or by hydraulic pressure. Loading is manual and capable of firing 15 rounds per minute. Auxiliary armament is a 12.7mm M2 machine gun mounted on the commander's cupola, and a 7.62mm M1919A4 machine gun mounted co-axially with the main gun. Powerplant is a Mitsubishi Type 12HM21WT, air cooled V-12 cylinder, diesel engine, capable of 570 horsepowers which provides a top-speed of approximately 45km/h. A torsion-bar suspension system was utilized and is matched to the single-pin caterpillar tracks. Minor improvements, such as smoke discharging units, were added to keep this venerable armored vehicle in the front lines of Japan's self defense operations.

This tank has been in use for a long time as the main tank of the J.G.S.D.F. It features modernized equipment and has been recreated in high detail.

Paints recommended by Tamiya: X-1 Gloss Black, X-2 Gloss White, X-6 Gloss Orange, X-7 Gloss Red, X-10 Gloss Gun Metal, X-13 Gloss Metallic Blue, X-21 Flat Base, XF-1 Flat Black, XF-5 Flat Green, XF-15 Flat Flesh, XF-16 Flat Aluminium, XF-49 Flat Khaki, XF-52 Flat Earth, XF-56 Flat Metallic Grey, XF-57 Flat Buff, XF-62 Flat Olive Drab, XF-65 Flat Field Grey.