First Carrier Division
The ship left Kure on 17 January 1943 and sailed for Truk with a load of aircraft. Upon arrival she was assigned to the Second Carrier Division with the carriers and "Zuikaku" to provide cover for the evacuation of Guadalcanal. "Zuihō"s fighters were transferred to Wewak, New Guinea, in mid-February and then to Kavieng in early March, although the ship remained at Truk. They flew to Rabaul on mid-March to participate in Operation I-Go, a land-based aerial offensive against Allied bases in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea. The fighters returned to Truk on 18 March after claiming 18 Allied aircraft shot down. "Zuihō" arrived at Sasebo on 9 May and received a brief refit in mid-June. She returned to Truk on 15 July and remained in the area until 5 November when she returned to Yokosuka. Her air group, 18 Zeros and 8 D3As, was briefly deployed to Kavieng in late August – early September before returning to Truk. By this time, "Zuihō" was assigned to the First Carrier Division with "Shōkaku" and "Zuikaku" and they sailed for Eniwetok Atoll on 18 September for training; a secondary objective was to be in position to intercept any attacks by American carriers in the vicinity of Wake Island and the Marshall Islands area. That day the American carriers raided the Gilbert Islands and were gone by the time the Japanese reached Eniwetok on 20 September. Japanese intelligence reports pointed to another American attack in the Wake-Marshall Islands area in mid-October and Admiral Mineichi Koga sortied the Combined Fleet, including the First Carrier Division, on 17 October. They arrived at Eniwetok two days later and waited for reports of American activity until 23 October. They then sailed for Wake Island and then returned to Truk on 26 October without encountering any American ships.