Japanese invasion of French Indochina
"Kumano" was laid down at Kawasaki Shipyards in Kobe on 4 April 1934, launched on 15 October 1936 and completed on 31 October 1937. Her first captain was Captain Shōji Nishimura, who oversaw her completion and remained captain until May 1939, although she almost immediately underwent modification work at Kure Naval Arsenal which was not completed until October 1939. Her first operational commander was Captain Kaoru Arima, from 15 November 1939 until 15 October 1940. From 16 July 1941, "Kumano" was part of "Sentai"-7, together with her sisters "Mogami", "Mikuma" and "Suzuya", and was based out of Hainan in support of the Japanese invasion of French Indochina.