Did Japan's low rubber use mean it needed little rubber?

Did Japan need little rubber, especially once it had access to Malaya?

The reply argues that scarcity had suppressed its use, while Malayan supplies remained vulnerable during transport to Japan.

An audience comment that Japan needed little rubber prompts a distinction between demand and scarcity. The reply argues that limited access encouraged designers to avoid rubber where possible. Capturing Malaya did not settle the problem because its output still had to reach Japan by sea. American attacks on rubber-carrying ships are cited alongside the better-known loss of oil tankers. In the oil-abundance scenario, synthetic production could loosen that constraint and allow different material choices.