If Tales of the Gun did an episode of Italian guns it would compete with the Japs as the most poorly equipped small arms army of WW II. Back then Japanese made = CRAP.
Contrary to popular belief, both the Carcano and the Arisaka rifle were good quality weapons. The problem in both the Japanese and Italian armies was logistics, not quality. Among other things both nations were transitioning to a new rifle cartridge at the outbreak of the war, and in both cases the transition was never completed. Italy eventually weeded almost all the 7.5 mm Carcanos out of the supply chain, but Japan never really tried and the Type 38 and Type 99 remained in tandem service until the end.