[1] Suzunami was authorized under the Medium-term defense buildup plan of 1996, and was built by IHI Marine United shipyards in Yokohama.

The destroyer was commissioned into service on 16 February 2006,[2] and was initially assigned to the JMSDF Escort Flotilla 3 based at Maizuru, Kyoto.

Suzunami, along with the fleet oiler Hamana were assigned to the Indian Ocean in March 2007 to provide assistance in refueling anti-terrorist coalition forces in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

On 8 April 2010, while monitoring a fleet of five People's Liberation Army Navy warships in international waters in the East China Sea, Suzunami was buzzed at abnormally low altitude by a Chinese helicopter.

On 13 August 2012 Suzunami was dispatched to Aden, Yemen, as part of ongoing anti-piracy escort operations off the coast of Somalia.