The carriers can do that and the Kamikazes cannot be used since it is a non-combat move. The Kamikazes can only be used when defending against an attacking fleet of Allied warships (though they cannot hit planes, subs, or transports).
Carrier Mobilization
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You’re right, the exact quote is:
In order to demonstrate that an air unit might have a safe landing zone, you may assume that all of your attacking rolls will be hits, and all defending rolls will be misses.
Maybe I’ll have better luck double-checking the sub rule: since the
surprise attack OR submerge
round comes before the general combat round, you could in fact start a battle with a sub against a DD-free opponent with no intention of finishing the fight since the sub is free to submerge before any opponents fire.