Kaya (榧, "torreya nucifera") was one of 18 Matsu-class escort destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II.

She was slightly damaged by American aircraft while escorting cruisers on a bombardment mission in the Philippines during Operation Rei in December.

Designed for ease of production, the Matsu class was smaller, slower and more lightly armed than previous destroyers as the IJN intended them for second-line duties like escorting convoys, releasing the larger ships for missions with the fleet.

The accuracy of the Type 89 guns was severely reduced against aircraft because no high-angle gunnery director was fitted.

That same day Kaya escorted a convoy to Manila, the Philippines, via Taiwan, arriving at the former port on 11 December.

The following day the ship sailed for Cam Ranh Bay in occupied French Indochina[9] to participate in Operation Rei, an attack on the American forces at San Jose on the island of Mindoro.

[9] Kaya arrived in Takao, Taiwan, on 7 January 1945 and continued onwards to Maizuru, Japan, where she was docked for repairs six days later.

The ship arrived in Kure on 2 March and remained in the Seto Inland Sea for the rest of the war.

The ship was turned over to Allied forces at Kure at the time of the surrender of Japan on 2 September and was stricken from the navy list on 5 October.