Japanese
InfantryTeam Bonus
Galley-line +4 line of sight
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"The Japanese are an infantry civilization with cheaper resource buildings, fast-attacking infantry, and powerful Fishing Ships."
Civilization Bonuses
- 1
Mills, Lumber- and Mining Camps cost -50%
- 2
Infantry attacks +33% faster starting in Feudal Age
- 3
Cavalry Archers +2 attack vs. Ranged Soldiers (except Skirmishers)
- 4
Fishing Ships work +5/10/15/20% faster in Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age; +100% HP
Unique Units
Unique Technologies
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Other Civilizations
AoE Coach analysis
Context & meta
The Japanese are the premier infantry civilization and a strong naval one. Their defining bonus — infantry attacks +33% faster starting in Feudal Age — gives them arguably the best Men-at-Arms opening in the game and elite Champions in the late game. Cheaper Mills, Lumber Camps and Mining Camps (-50%) smooth their economy, and their Fishing Ships work faster and are far tankier, making them a top water civ. The Samurai unique unit hunts enemy unique units, and their Castle/Imperial unique techs (Yasama, which makes Towers fire extra arrows, and Kataparuto, which speeds up Trebuchet pack/fire) round out a flexible, aggressive toolkit.
History & balance
The Japanese infantry attack-speed bonus was historically capped to the Feudal Age threshold and remains one of the most distinctive bonuses in the game. The Definitive Edition kept their identity as the infantry benchmark — when designers want to compare a new infantry civ, Japanese are the yardstick. Their Mill/Camp discount has been a stable eco bonus since Age of Kings. The Fishing Ship buffs (HP and pierce armor) were added to make them genuinely dominant on water rather than merely competitive, and they remain a default water-map pick.
In pro play
On Arabia, the Japanese Men-at-Arms opening is feared — the +33% attack speed makes their early infantry trade far above cost, and pros use it to snowball an early lead. The civ transitions smoothly into Crossbows, Knights or back into Champions in the late game. On water maps Japanese are a perennial top pick thanks to their Fishing Ship dominance and good warships. Their flexibility (strong infantry, strong navy, solid economy) makes them a safe high-level pick that punishes greedy opponents in the early game while still scaling.
How to counter it
The Japanese infantry bonus is attack speed, not survivability — archers and Crossbowmen kite their Militia-line and Samurai effectively, and Mangonels punish clumped infantry. Cavalry runs down their foot units. The key is to avoid melee against early Japanese infantry: wall up, get archers, and never trade Militia-for-Militia into their +33% bonus. On water, only another strong naval civ can contest their Fishing Ships head-on. Deny them the early aggression they want by scouting the Men-at-Arms opening and walling proactively.