Japanese invasion of French Indochina
Construction by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries began in 1929, the ship was launched on May 16, 1930, construction was completed on August 14, 1930. Osaka Shosen Co., now Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, used her as a fast luxury freighter for Tokyo-New York City service through the Panama Canal. In July 1941, the United States closed the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping in retaliation for the Japanese invasion of French Indochina. "Tokai Maru", on the eastern side of the Canal, was forced to sail back to Japan through the Strait of Magellan. The ship was then requisitioned as a war-time transport freighter, a class of ships known as Ippan Choyosen that were not officially part of the Imperial Japanese Navy and had civilian crews. The ship went under contract to the Japanese Navy at the Kure Naval Arsenal on October 17, 1941. She was tasked with transporting men and material throughout the Pacific. She would have been armed with 2x12cm guns, 2xtwin 25mm guns, and 2xsingle 25mm guns.