On 1 March, "Inazuma" was involved in the Second Battle of the Java Sea, where she assisted in the sinking of the British destroyer and the cruiser , which she hit with two torpedoes. She then rescued 400 odd survivors from "Exeter" that same day. Two days later, just before midnight on 3 March, she rescued the entire crew from the American destroyer (except one that had died just prior to abandoning ship) who had been in the water for almost 60 hours, having been sunk about two hours after "Exeter" and "Encounter" on 1 March. After assisting in operations in the Philippines later in March, she returned to Yokosuka Naval Arsenal for repairs in April.