Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - A lokacin harin da aka kai kan Pearl Harbor, "Shiratsuyu" an sanya shi zuwa Rukunin Ruwa na 27 na Ruwa na Ruwa na 1 na IJN 1st Fleet, kuma ya kasance a cikin ruwan gida na Japan a matsayin wani ɓangare na kariya na sojojin yaƙi na Japan. Daga tsakiyar watan Janairun 1942, an taimaka mata wajen rakiyar jirgi tsakanin Japan da Taiwan, kuma a tsakiyar watan Fabrairu ta raka jirgin sama zuwa Davao da komawa Hashirajima. A watan Afrilu, jirgin ruwan ya raka masu jigilar jiragen sama daga Mako zuwa Truk, daga inda ya shiga Admiral Takeo Takagi's Strike Force a yakin Tekun Coral.
a ranar 7 zuwa 8 ga watan Mayu. A ƙarshen Mayu, jirgin ya raka masu jirgi kuma ya koma Kure, daga inda aka sanya shi ga Admiral Shirō Takasu<unk>s, Aleutians Guard Force a lokacin yakin Midway a ranar 4 zuwa 6 ga Yuni. A ranar 14 ga Yuli an sake sanya shi zuwa IJN 2nd Fleet kuma ya koma Truk a tsakiyar watan Agusta, daga inda aka tura shi a matsayin jigilar sauri don ɗaukar sojoji don sake mamaye Makin Atoll bayan Makin Raid.