Why did the IJN lose most all sea battles?

[Sailor Steve]

When people say they "don't believe in luck", do they mean "Luck" as controlled by outside supernatural forces (aka the Roman Goddess Fortuna) or just that sometimes random unforeseeable events happen to us? I don't believe in the former either, but certainly the poor guy who has a plane fall on his house is indeed a victim of "bad luck". When it's not your fault and nothing you did could have prevented it, it's random chance, but can also be described as luck.

In the case in point, the US forces certainly gave themselves all the advantages they could. Even so, both sides were searching vast areas of open ocean. Did the US Navy have advanced knowledge of the proper area to search, or was it random chance that led them to find the Japanese carriers at the opportune moment? If the former, then they certainly tipped the scales with technology and energy. If the latter, then it was still luck...meaning random chance, not supernatural guidance by the fates.