Lack of AOs was a major problem for the IJN of course (in addition to not having enough refined oil to fill them). Later in the war, some major IJN ships used unrefined petroleum which includes the volatiles, akin to gasoline. Not good to have in a battle.
The US Navy of course made mistakes, they are inevitable in war. But the Japanese could not afford to make any or have any bad luck.
The Yamato and Musashi were wasted expenditures for them. The Germans wasted a lot of effort on a nearly complete aircraft carrier. They couldn't afford a misstep either.