In 1941 Sakurai was assigned to command the IJA 33rd Division in China under IJA 11th Army, and participated in the invasion of Siam and of Burma in the Burma Campaign, and was garrisoned in Arakan. In 1943, Sakurai was reassigned back to Japan as head of the Armored Warfare Department under the Army Ministry. However, in 1944, Sakurai returned to Burma as Commander of Twenty-Eighth Army. His army invaded Bengal (Operation Ha-Go) to draw the British Army away from Imphal in support of Japanese armies in the U-Go Offensive. By February 22, 1944, the IJA 28th Army had been repulsed with heavy losses and was in retreat. By July 20, 1945, Sakurai had withdrawn to Moulmein, which he held until the end of the war.