Japan concentrates all its Naval, airborne, army and air power to capture Hawaii only, forgetting initially about the Philippines, Malaya, Hong Kong, Wake, Guam, Midway and Indonesia. The fuel, damaged ships, scrap metal, naval instalations, etc, in Hawaii would be invaluable for Japan and the US could not start a campaign in the Pacific for years.
Howland Island, Niihau and Kahoolawe were not defended at all. By capturing Howland at 2200 Hawaii time Dec 31, 1941 (promptly disabling the radio during the attack), the Japanese gain an invaluable refueling area from which Mitsubishi G3s could transport paratroopers and bombs from the Marshall islands to Hawaii. During the attack paratroopers, fuel, troops and bombs are unloaded. The first G3s begin arriving from the Marshall islands as the attack takes place.
At 2300 the first G3 full of paratroopers takes off from Howland for Hawaii, it will be followed by 239 more G3s and G2s carrying paratroopers, army troops and bombs on a 1 way mission.
The whole Japanese fleet approaches Hawaii and at 0530 Jan 1, 1942 225 planes from all the Japanese carriers, plane tenders and warships are launched from 80 miles away from PH. 40 submarines attack all patrolling ships as soon as the planes strike and launch 30 minisubs into PH.
Simultaneously with the PH attack, Niihau and Kahoolawe are occupied, airplane fuel, torpedoes and bombs are unloaded and provisional landing strips prepared.
Paratroopers capture the huge fuel tanks, an airfield and disable 3 coastal artillery positions. Planes with troops land in the golf course and in the country roads without phone lines and in the captured airfield.
Paratroop planes land in Niihau and Kahoolawe, where they are refueled and loaded with torpedoes or bombs and flown by a fresh crew to attack the ships, coastal guns, feld artillery, etc,