Tankers as the constraint on a larger Pearl Harbor operation

If Pearl Harbor's fuel stores were destroyed, could the Japanese carrier force still get home after staying to do more damage?

A prolonged operation required more tanker capacity; Japan planned the strike without building enough support for a larger decisive operation.

Japan faced foreign-currency and production constraints, but the planning principle remains: a strategy that keeps a carrier force far from home requires tanker capacity built or acquired in advance. A force that could conduct a short raid did not automatically have the logistics for repeated strikes, an amphibious landing, or a prolonged presence. Oilers were part of combat power rather than an afterthought.