During the later stages of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, landed at Cebu on March 1942 and Mindanao the following month. As commander of Army forces on Cebu after the invasion of the Philippines in 1942, Kawaguchi objected strenuously to the "revenge killings" of senior Philippine government officials and supreme court justices by Japanese authorities, most notably Japanese Army Colonel Masanobu Tsuji. He argued that, "shooting defeated opponents in cold blood was a violation of the true Bushido."
During the later stages of Japan's occupation of the Philippines, Kawaguchi landed on Cebu in March 1942 and Mindanao the following month. As commander of the Philippine Army forces on Cebu after the invasion of the Philippines in 1942, Kawaguchi strongly opposed the Japanese military's practice of killing high-ranking Filipino officials and judges, particularly Colonel Masanobu Tsuji. He argued that this act was a violation of Bushido, the code of conduct for samurai warriors.