In terms of value, Hawaii does not do much for Japan.
Its a 12 (Correction from my earlier 7) IPC swing in the economic balance of the Pacific (-6 for US, +1 for Japan). Taking any of the DEI or Manila accomplishes similar overall economic status with less resource investment by Japan.
Strategically, Hawaii closes the US out of the Pacific until it can reclaim it. However, it takes considerable resources for Japan to both take AND hold it due to Hawaii’s proximity to the Major IC in W.USA. Those resources are better spent taking the DEI, Manila and Calcutta in the early game.
My brother calls his Japan strategy the “water ballon” effect. He basically plays Japan to great success by using Japan to “explode” like a water ballon all over the Pacific map. I’ve seen him go round 1 and take everything he possibly can. One time he even took the Aleutian Islands just to mess with me.
He now waits until round 2 to do it with better effect (due to the US not being able to collect its at war income until the end of US2 instead of US1). In short order by round 3 he controls all the DEI, Manila, most of China and is settling in to crush India. He never bothers with Hawaii and prefers to shore up his “backside” aka DEI and India before turning to deal with the emerging US fleet and the always annoying Anzac.
He’s gone so far as to allow the US fleet to stage in SZ6 for a round and take the Convoy disruption because he’d rather take out Calcutta and take up to 8 convoy damage for a round than allow the UK to start removing his gains in the South Pacific by turning around to protect Tokyo that the US can’t logistically take on J4.