Maybe. We don't exactly know who "forced" what or how the studio structure was negotiated, but if you just want to look at case/effect, it has happened before. Sony forced Guerilla Cambridge to work on a VR game and the result of that was the closure of the studio. Sony forced Bigbig Studios to work on a PS Vita showcase title and the result of that was the closure of the studio.
Japan Studio forced SCE to let them work on a massive AAA sequel called Knack 2 and the result of that was the closure of the studio.
I don't know what the alternative was in this case, though? LocoRoco 3 and Um Jammer Lammy Remastered and Kung Fu Rider 2 on PS5VR wouldn't be keeping the lights on at the studio for long. Sony appears to have given Japan Studio WAY more slack than any of its other studios (especially once they stopped producing titles for Vita in 2015 and the studio's main home was no more,) and this downsizing is a surprise only in that nobody thought Sony would actually pull the trigger on its beloved old dog.
As much as I love some of the company's quirky titles, as a game buyer Japan Studio have not fully captured me as a game buyer (particularly with internal studio developments) for a while now. I have assumed they were doomed to failure for a long time now, and it wasn't a lack of advertising that told me, it was me looking at Knack and Gravity Rush and saying, "Eh, I don't know if these are really grabbing me, have you got anything else?" and there being no answer to that from Japan Studio for most of the PS4's lifespan.