Nobutake Kondō
The Japanese naval forces were divided into three groups: the "Advanced" force of "Jun'yō", plus two battleships, four heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and 10 destroyers, and was commanded by Vice Admiral Nobutake Kondō in heavy cruiser ; the "Main Body" of "Shōkaku", "Zuikaku", and "Zuihō" plus one heavy cruiser and eight destroyers, commanded by Vice Admiral Chūichi Nagumo aboard "Shōkaku"; and the "Vanguard" force of two battleships, three heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and seven destroyers, commanded by Rear Admiral Hiroaki Abe in the battleship . In addition to commanding the Advanced force, Kondo acted as the overall commander of the three forces.