Japan was the only other nation aside from the US to design and operate amphibious tanks or assault vehicle, the first and most widely used of which was the Type 2 Ka-Mi. Design of such vehicles had begun in the late 1920s after which development was taken over by naval authorities themselves. The Type 2 was adapted from the Type 95 light tank and shared many of its components. The hull was extensively redesigned into a boat-like shape and was of all-welded construction in addition to being fully sealed. Additional buoyancy was provided through large pontoons at the front and rear. Amphibious capability was afforded thanks to two propellers, while two rudders provided steering; it was a complex vehicle to operate, however, and as a result one of the crew members was a mechanic. Armament consisted of a high velocity Type 1 37-mm gun along with co-axial and bow-mounted machine guns. Sometimes, however, even naval torpedoes were equipped and launching from the deck of a submarine was possible. Despite its excellent capabilities on both water and land, the Type 2 entered service too late into World War II to participate in Japan's numerous successful amphibious landings during the first few months of the conflict. As a result, it was mostly used (like most other Japanese tanks) for static defense.

Design of an amphibious tank began as early as 1928 and numerous prototpyes were developed including the Type 1 and the Type 92 A-I-Go. No variants of the basic Type 2 Ka-Mi were produced.