Sugi (杉, "Cedar") was one of 18 Matsu-class escort destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II.

Sugi was damaged again by American aircraft during the South China Sea raid in January 1945 and then escorted a convoy back to Japan in February where she was repaired.

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.

[2][6] Authorized in the late 1942 Modified 5th Naval Armaments Supplement Program,[7] Sugi (cedar) was laid down by Fujinagata Shipyards on 25 February 1944 in its Osaka facility and launched on 3 July.

She escorted more convoys in the Philippines and the South China Sea area afterwards and was lightly damaged by strafing American aircraft on 7 December during the Battle of Ormoc Bay; 32 crewmen were killed during the attack.

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.

The following month she helped to escort a convoy from Shanghai, China, to Moji, Japan on 2–7 February and was then docked in Sasebo for repairs.

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.