Did Japanese cruisers operate the Rufe floatplane fighter?

Did the Imperial Japanese Navy ever use the Rufe floatplane fighter from a cruiser?

Probably, and Japan also considered fighters for shipborne aviation, but the recollection is cautious.

The Rufe was the floatplane version of the A6M Zero and offered a way to put fighter capability where no runway existed. The answer cautiously recalls that Japanese cruisers used it and notes broader Japanese work on fighters for shipboard aviation. This is a qualified recollection rather than a detailed operational claim. The exchange concerns the boundary between reconnaissance floatplanes and attempts to give dispersed naval forces local fighter cover.