The Type 97 was an infantry mortar that was used by Japan during World War II. It fired shells of a calibre of ninety millimetres at a distance of up to 3,800 metres and was a simplified version of the previous Type 94 mortar. It took anywhere from three to five men in order to operate effectively and was not very mobile considering that it had a total weight of 173 kilograms and was very bulky. It had a total length of 121 centimetres and a muzzle velocity of 227 metres per second.