In 1931 the first entirely Japanese-production fighter went to the army, the Nakajima Type91. The specification had been issued in 1927 and after the prototype had been initially refused the military authorities had reversed their decision and had accepted the aircraft with some changes. It was in service from December 1931, and the Type 91 replaced the French Nieuport-Delage NiD .29 C.1 fighter produced under licence by Nakajima, which was front-line equipment at the time. 320 of the Type91 were costructed.
The age of the biplane came to a close in Japan in 1935 when units received the Kawasaki Ki-10. This small and very handy fighter had been flown for the first time in March, and during proving flights it had shown that it was very much better than a more modern contender, another monoplane built by Nakajima and enterd in the same competition. 300 Ki-10a were built up till 1937 and stayed in front-line service untill the eve of the Second World War, taking part in the war against China.