Maizuru Naval District
Iwabuchi returned to the Yokosuka Naval District on 10 February 1943, and was promoted to rear admiral on 1 May. On 5 May, he was assigned to the Personnel and Recruiting Department at Maizuru Naval District. This would normally have been a dead-end position to his career; however, the increasingly desperate war situation provided Iwabuchi with a final opportunity. On 1 November 1944, he was given command of the 3rd Southern Escort Fleet and on 17 November, its accompanying ground force, the 31st Naval Base Force, and ordered to the Philippines, which were then under impending threat of Allied invasion. Iwabuchi was assigned command of the defenses of the city of Manila.