After WWII the US Army took examples of every combat rifle used in WWII and did a series of destruction tests to see if we could learn how to make a stronger rifle. They basically loaded hotter and hotter rounds in each sample until it blew up. They were not able to get the Arisaka to blow up. They went so far as to use bullseye powder and all it did was to send the barrel down range, but the receiver and bolt were still functional.
If I remember correctly, the reason for its strength was a combination of an extremely thick receiver wall and special case hardening (the receiver was hard on the outside and soft on the inside).
Additionally, the NRA museum has a Arisaka rifle that has a barrel rifled for a 6.5mm bullet and the chamber set for a 7.62mm round (30-06). After WWII it was pretty common to take 7.7mm Arisaka (Arisaka rifles were chambered for a 6.5 round and a 7.7 round) and ream out the chamber to fit the 30-06, because 7.7JAP rounds were extremely hard to get. Some Vet brought home what he thought was a Arisaka that used the 7.7Jap round and had it rechambered for the 30-06. He fired it several times and it kicked so hard that he took it to a gunsmith to find out why it kicked so hard. The gunsmith did a little checking and realized that it was kicking so hard because it was pushing a 7.62 bullet down a 6.5 barrel- something that should have caused the rifle to blow up. The rifle was sent to the NRA, who did a remote firing to validate that it would not blow up. Somehow the rifle was donated to the NRA and there it sits.
In case you are thinking of making your own custom rifle using an Arisaka rifle, the trigger is horrible and the safety is a real pain to use. But I know of one gunsmith that makes custom varment rifles out of them, but it is very expensive to do because of the modifications required for a good trigger and safety.
Hopefully, we’re getting past the days of chopping up collectible guns to make “deer rifles”. If you have an Arisaka and want a deer rifle, sell the Arisaka and buy a new sporting rifle. You’ll save a collectible, give a gun company some business, and maybe make some money in the bargain. Thirty years ago, a gun dealer I knew had a rack full of German K98k Mauser fifles with the stocks cut down and rechambered to 8mm/’06. They were about $150 each. Today an original, all-matching K98k can easily bring $1500. You can buy 2 or 3 new Remchesters for that.