Japanese night fighters needed more than a suitable airframe

How lethal were Japanese naval night fighters?

They could be effective with properly trained crews, but a night fighter required substantial support and could not rely on an ordinary pilot placed in the aircraft.

Japanese naval night fighters could be effective when flown by crews who actually knew how to operate after dark. Assigning whichever pilot was available did not create a night-fighter capability. The aircraft still required the training and wider support needed to make the designation meaningful. Their lethality therefore depended on the system around the aircraft as much as the aircraft itself.