Nyorai mberi kweiyi ndima - Panguva yekurwiswa kwePearl Harbor, "Shiratsuyu" akapiwa Destroyer Division 27 yeDestroyer Squadron 1 yeIJN 1st Fleet, uye akaramba ari mumvura dzeJapan semugove wekudzivirirwa kwemauto ehondo eJapan. Kubvira pakati paJanuary 1942, yakabatsira kutungamirira ngarava dzaifamba pakati peJapan neTaiwan, uye pakati paFebruary yakatungamirira ngarava inotakura ndege kuDavao uye kudzokera kuHashirajima. Muna April, muparadzi akaperekedza vatakuri vendege uye kubva kuMako kuenda kuTruk, kubva kwaakabatana naAdmiral Takeo Takagi's Strike Force paHondo yeCoral Sea
musi wa 7 kusvika 8 May. Pakupera kwaMay, ngarava yakasunga cruisers ndokudzokera kuKure, kubva kwayakagoverwa kuna Admiral Shirō Takasu<unk>s, Aleutians Guard Force panguva yeHondo yeMidway musi wa4 kusvika 6 Chikumi. Musi wa14 Chikunguru iye akanzi kudzokera IJN 2nd Fleet uye vakadzokera Truk nechepakati August, kubva kwaakanga deployed somunhu mukuru nokukurumidza chokufambisa kutakura mauto kuti reoccupy Makin Atoll pashure Makin Raid.