Aware of the presence of Halsey's carriers and other large warships near Guadalcanal, the Japanese considered canceling the third evacuation run, but decided to go ahead as planned.
Da de var opmærksom på, at Halseys hangarskibe og andre store krigsskibe var i nærheden af Guadalcanal, overvejede japanerne at aflyse den 3. evakuering, men besluttede at fortsætte som planlagt.