Could armed seaplane tenders count as aviation cruisers?

Could armed Imperial Japanese Navy seaplane tenders be considered very light aviation cruisers?

It is a defensible argument, but their guns and aircraft alone may not make the classification fit.

Japanese seaplane tenders combined aircraft support with enough armament to invite comparison with a light aviation cruiser. The argument can be constructed, but the answer does not endorse it outright. The hesitation reflects the difference between describing a ship's visible equipment and identifying the institutional mission for which it was organized. Warship classifications remain contested at the boundary between tender, carrier, and cruiser.