It was the standard Japanese military cartridge from 1897 until the late 1930s for service rifles and machine guns when it was gradually replaced by the 7.7×58mm Arisaka.

In 1907, a spitzer round was adopted as the Type 38 cartridge for all subsequent Japanese service small arms in 6.5 mm caliber.

[2] The 6.5 mm Japanese round was later criticized as being under-powered in comparison to other contemporary military cartridges such as the .30-06, .303 British, 7.92×57mm Mauser, and 7.62×54mmR.

Because of the long barrel of the Type 38 rifle, one benefit of the 6.5 mm round was that it produced very little muzzle flash and smoke.

[3] Furthermore, the 6.5 mm round with the Type 38 spitzer bullet had a desirable flat trajectory, and effective terminal ballistics with rapid yaw on impact causing severe wounds.

Larger caliber military cartridges are also optimal for machine guns to use for long-range firing, and rifles were often only made to chamber them in the interest of logistics.

The Type 38 spitzer round fired a 9.0-gram (139 gr) bullet with a powder charge of 33 grains (2.1 g) for a muzzle velocity of around 770 metres per second (2,500 ft/s).

By combining nitrocellulose with nitroglycerine, a new propellant for the cartridge was introduced to reduce the muzzle flash and visible powder signature.

[citation needed] The 6.5 mm gallery ammunition was also produced for the Japanese military which incorporated a paper or wood bullet.

China's chronic lack of weaponry forced them to use these captured weapons en masse during the war.

[12] The 6.5×50mm round was subsequently produced in Britain by the Kynoch company and was officially adopted for British service as the .256-inch (6.5 mm) caliber Mk II in 1917.

With parts and ammunition drying up, Finland relegated the Arisaka to the reserves and the merchant marines before trading a large number of them off to Estonia.

[16] These rifles were built on Danish Nielsen & Winther machinery originally for the Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin beginning in 1924.