At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, "Shiratsuyu" was assigned to Destroyer Division 27 of Destroyer Squadron 1 of the IJN 1st Fleet, and remained in Japanese home waters as part of the protection of the Japanese battleship forces. From mid-January 1942, she was assisted to escorting convoys between Japan and Taiwan, and in mid-February escorted the aircraft carrier to Davao and back to Hashirajima. In April, the destroyer escorted the aircraft carriers and from Mako to Truk, from which it joined Admiral Takeo Takagi’s Strike Force at the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7–8 May. At the end of May, the ship escorted the cruisers and back to Kure, from which it was assigned to Admiral Shirō Takasu’s, Aleutians Guard Force during the Battle of Midway on 4–6 June. On 14 July she was assigned back to the IJN 2nd Fleet and returned to Truk in mid-August, from which she was deployed as a high speed transport to carry troops to reoccupy Makin Atoll after the Makin Raid.