Wakatsuki played a minor role in the battle of the Empress Augusta Bay against a US cruiser-destroyer group, before surviving the bombing of Rabaul.

The Akizuki-class ships were originally designed as anti-aircraft escorts for carrier battle groups, but were modified with torpedo tubes and depth charges to meet the need for more general-purpose destroyers.

[4] The main armament of the Akizuki class consisted of eight 100-millimeter (3.9 in) Type 98 dual-purpose guns in four twin-gun turrets, two superfiring pairs fore and aft of the superstructure.

During these initial months, Wakatsuki operating alongside the destroyer Tamanami during their training duty of Hashirajima, including managing to tow the 40,000 ton battleship Nagato at a speed of 12 knots, and it was during this time period on the 8th of June that the battleship Mutsu suddenly and violently sank in harbor to a magazine detonation, prompting Wakatsuki and Tamanami to assist in rescuing 353 survivors.

However, Wakatsuki contributed very little to the battle, unleashing several salvos of 3.9-inch (10 cm) gunfire, but missing her shots, before avoiding a collision with the heavy cruiser Haguro.

In turn, the light cruiser Sendai and the destroyer Hatsukaze were sunk, and several other ships were damaged, sending off the Japanese task force and ending the battle in a US victory.

On 6 June, she was present when the destroyer Minazuki was torpedoed and sunk by the familiar USS Harder, prompting Wakastuki to rescue 45 survivors.

However, Taihō was torpedoed by the submarine USS Albacore and sank in a fiery explosion, prompting Wakatsuki to rescue survivors, transferring Admiral Ozawa to the heavy cruiser Haguro.

[7][8] After the battle, Wakatsuki escorted the fleet on a troop transport run between 8-20 July from Okinawa to Manila and then Lingga, and returned to Japan on 19 September with a tanker convoy.

[8] On 8 November 1944, Wakatsuki, along with the destroyers Naganami, Hamanami, Asashimo, and Shimakaze departed Manila on an escort mission to four troop transports destined for Ormoc.

She survived the initial attacks through excellent maneuverability, but eventually the first bomb hit the ship's bow, followed by another to her stern, immediately rendering her dead in the water.

[7][8] Wakatsuki's wreck was discovered in early December 2017 by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's research vessel RV Petrel 869 ft (265 m) below the surface of Ormoc Bay.