I don't see it as a Japanese hat, I can see parallels, however, look to the detail of the handle and manner of the handle strap.
They are secured externally like the Somali Gaashaan and Ethiopian Amhara and Oromo shields, and share similar external profiles to the Ethiopian types. The knuckle pad and grip and straps within are distinctly different though.
With these examples under discussion, note one is clearly a cylindrical grip, the other a wrist strap, this feature is found in the others previously under discussion. Certainly not a hat to my eyes when looking at the pieces together and how they function.
I feel these are from the horn of African, where exactly, I cannot say, but lean more to Ethiopia as red was also a very popular colour on the inside of their shields and there was a vast array of styling within the shape of this shield type too.
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