The late model Jap aircraft all had either CO2 systems or self sealing fuel tanks. The follow on to the Zero, the a7m, was good plane. I don’t know why that plane took so long to go into productions. The Japs did some real stupid stuff in WWII.
Read about the training program for the Japanese Navy Fighter Pilots.
It was very intense and produced great fighter pilots.
But, it didn’t produce enough of them.
They also suffered from an intense and disruptive rivalry between the Army and Navy.
Lastly, they had a culture that glorified individual combat.
They weren’t very good at teamwork.
Look at the kill ratios of American planes to the Japanese throughout the war. The Japs got creamed every time. Christ sake dude, it’s almost always “America sucks’’ with you. The simple fact of the matter about 90 per cent of what the Japs made was crap and almost 100% of their military tactics were even worse. On that I would agree. Holy Smokes, a freakin’ miracle , we’ve agreed on something.