Taking Hawaii was key to the whole Pacific. Take Hawaii and Australia(which would have been easy with out Brit US help) and the Nips own the whole Pacific. The Nips were timid when they should have been bolder.
If Japan takes out the carriers at Pearl, they have free reign in the Pacific for at least two years.
Nah. Hawaii is a long, long way from Japan and would have required a huge garrison to occupy and control all of the islands. They didn't have the logistic depth in their merchant marine to support that garrison at that distance. We wouldn't have sued for peace or sat on our hands, even if they had nailed our carriers then. We had a solid program for the Essex and Independence Class carriers already going, a massive training program immediately after Pearl Harbor for all of the requisite skills and the Marine Corps was ramping up quickly for amphibious warfare. Hawaii is much closer to the mainland US and we would have obliterated them if they got there.