Akikaze (秋風, Autumn Wind)[1] was a Minekaze-class destroyer, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy immediately following the end of World War I.

The class was considered obsolete by the start of the Pacific War and served in a number of roles including minesweeper, aircraft rescue ships and Kaiten-carriers.

[3] Equipped with powerful engines, these vessels were capable of high speeds and were intended as escorts for the projected Amagi-class battlecruisers, which were ultimately never built.

[5] On completion, Akikaze joined sister ships Hakaze, Tachikaze, and Hokaze at the Yokosuka Naval District to form Destroyer Division 4 under Torpedo Squadron 1 (第1水雷戦隊).

She was heavily damaged in an air raid on 2 August which killed her captain Lieutenant Commander Tsurukichi Sabe and resulted 22 other casualties.

On 1 November, Destroyer Division 30 — Yūzuki (flagship), Uzuki, and Akikaze — departed Mako, escorting aircraft carrier Jun'yō and cruiser Kiso toward Brunei.

"Between Manus and Rabaul each of the adults was strung up by the hands on a gallows in the stern of the vessel, shot dead by rifle or machine-gun fire, and thrown overboard.

"[11][12] As there were U.S. nationals among the victims, the Australian War Crimes Section in Tokyo, having completed its investigation, on 18 July 1947 handed the matter over to the American authorities, who appear to have taken no further action.