The Washington Naval Treaty restricted the tonnage of battleships and aircraft carriers, leaving ships lighter than 10,000 tons aside—this encouraged the development of a new class destroyer design. She was to have a displacement of 1,900 tons, 127 mm guns, and a triple-tube torpedo launcher. The project was approved in 1926, resulting in 20 ships being built under it. Fubuki entered service in August 1928. During World War II, she provided protection for the Japanese landings in French Indochina, Malaya, and the Dutch East Indies, and she engaged in the Battles of the Sunda Strait and Midway.