Tokyo Express supply run

E91921

World War II military operation logistical operation naval operation

The Tokyo Express supply run was the Imperial Japanese Navy’s high-speed nighttime operation to deliver troops and supplies—often using destroyers—to Japanese-held islands in the Solomon Islands campaign during World War II.

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All labels observed (7)

Label	Occurrences
Tokyo Express	4
Tokyo Express operations	3
Tokyo Express high-speed reinforcement run	1
Tokyo Express night transport runs	1
Tokyo Express reinforcement runs to Guadalcanal	1
Tokyo Express supply run canonical	1
Tokyo Express transport runs	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T781394 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Tokyo Express supply run
Context triple: [Battle of Tassafaronga, JapaneseForces, Tokyo Express supply run]

A. Tokyo Round
The Tokyo Round was a major series of multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) during the 1970s that aimed to reduce tariffs and address non-tariff barriers to international trade.
B. Tokyo Raid
Tokyo Raid is the common name for the Doolittle Raid, the first U.S. air attack on the Japanese home islands during World War II, launched in April 1942 as a morale-boosting strike following Pearl Harbor.
C. Operation Ten-Go
Operation Ten-Go was the final major Japanese naval sortie of World War II, a desperate 1945 mission centered on the battleship Yamato’s one-way attack toward Okinawa.
D. Ten-Go
Ten-Go was the codename for Japan’s final major naval operation in World War II, centered on the battleship Yamato’s doomed sortie toward Okinawa in April 1945.
E. Operation Typhoon
Operation Typhoon was the German Wehrmacht’s 1941 offensive aimed at capturing Moscow during World War II, whose failure marked a major turning point on the Eastern Front.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Tokyo Express supply run
Target entity description: The Tokyo Express supply run was the Imperial Japanese Navy’s high-speed nighttime operation to deliver troops and supplies—often using destroyers—to Japanese-held islands in the Solomon Islands campaign during World War II.

A. Tokyo Round
The Tokyo Round was a major series of multilateral trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) during the 1970s that aimed to reduce tariffs and address non-tariff barriers to international trade.
B. Tokyo Raid
Tokyo Raid is the common name for the Doolittle Raid, the first U.S. air attack on the Japanese home islands during World War II, launched in April 1942 as a morale-boosting strike following Pearl Harbor.
C. Operation Ten-Go
Operation Ten-Go was the final major Japanese naval sortie of World War II, a desperate 1945 mission centered on the battleship Yamato’s one-way attack toward Okinawa.
D. Ten-Go
Ten-Go was the codename for Japan’s final major naval operation in World War II, centered on the battleship Yamato’s doomed sortie toward Okinawa in April 1945.
E. Operation Typhoon
Operation Typhoon was the German Wehrmacht’s 1941 offensive aimed at capturing Moscow during World War II, whose failure marked a major turning point on the Eastern Front.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (41)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	World War II military operation ⓘ logistical operation ⓘ naval operation ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Rat Transportation ⓘ Tokyo Express ⓘ linked to: Tokyo Express supply run
baseOfOperations	Rabaul ⓘ Shortland Islands ⓘ
campaign	Solomon Islands campaign ⓘ
characteristic	conducted primarily at night ⓘ used speed to avoid Allied air power ⓘ
conflict	World War II ⓘ
geographicArea	Ironbottom Sound ⓘ New Georgia Sound ⓘ Solomon Islands ⓘ
impact	prolonged Japanese resistance on Guadalcanal and other islands ⓘ
limitation	restricted cargo capacity due to use of destroyers ⓘ
logisticalMethod	use of drums and containers floated to shore ⓘ
notableDestination	Guadalcanal ⓘ Kolombangara ⓘ New Georgia ⓘ
operator	Imperial Japanese Navy ⓘ
opponent	Royal Australian Navy ⓘ United States Navy ⓘ
originOfName	Allied nickname for Japanese high-speed runs from bases such as Rabaul ⓘ
primaryObjective	deliver supplies ⓘ deliver troops ⓘ
purpose	evacuate Japanese troops when necessary ⓘ reinforce Japanese-held islands ⓘ
relatedBattle	Battle of Kolombangara ⓘ Battle of Kula Gulf ⓘ Battle of Tassafaronga ⓘ Naval Battle of Guadalcanal ⓘ
result	enabled temporary resupply of isolated Japanese garrisons ⓘ
risk	high losses to Allied surface forces and aircraft ⓘ
strategicContext	Japanese attempt to hold the Solomon Islands ⓘ
tactics	high-speed nighttime operations ⓘ
theater	Pacific War ⓘ
timePeriod	1942 ⓘ 1943 ⓘ
typicalVesselsUsed	destroyers ⓘ fast transports ⓘ

How these facts were elicited