Ariake (有明, ”Daybreak”) [1] was the fifth of six Hatsuharu-class destroyers, built for the Imperial Japanese Navy under the Circle One Program (Maru Ichi Keikaku).

[3] These conflicting goals proved beyond contemporary destroyer design, and the initial ships of this class were top-heavy, with severe stability problems and inherent structural weaknesses.

In January 1942, Ariake escorted aircraft carriers Hiryū and Sōryū to Palau and to Ambon during the invasion of the Netherlands East Indies, and was a participant in the Darwin air raid of 19 February 1942.

Ariake was then assigned to the Solomon Islands, participating in a troop transport run to land the Ichiki and Aoba Detachments on Guadalcanal, and shelling Henderson Field.

In early June, she was docked for repairs, except for a sortie to escort the carrier Hiyō to Truk, and to return with the same damaged ship a few days later.