After the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, Murakami was sent as a naval attaché to France from June 1897 to May 1900. During his time in France, he was promoted to lieutenant commander, and then to commander. On his return, he served in a number of staff positions before he was appointed executive officer to the Chin'en in 1902. In July 1903, he received his first command, the cruiser Chiyoda. He was promoted to captain the same year and continued as captain of Chiyoda in the early stages of the Russo-Japanese War. On 12 January 1905, he became captain of the cruiser Azuma.
Murakami was promoted to rear admiral on 28 August 1908 and vice admiral on 1 December 1912, from which time he was director of the Kure Naval Arsenal, followed by Naval Shipbuilding Command. It was largely at his insistence that the new battlecruiserKongō was equipped with 14 inch guns instead of 12 inch guns as originally planned. However, Murakami's plans for further modernization of the Imperial Japanese Navy and introduction of new technologies were brought to a halt by the Siemens scandal.
Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press. ISBN0-8047-4977-9.