Senior American and Japanese officials usually shy away from making public comments about Japan's 1941 attack on US forces at Pearl Harbor. So there was embarrassment, confusion, and unease on Saturday in Japan after President Trump casually used the World War II attack to justify his secrecy before launching the war against Iran. The Japanese discomfort was compounded by the fact that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was sitting awkwardly at Trump's side as he spoke. The reaction partly reflects just how fresh the political debate in Japan about its role in World War II remains, the AP reports, 80 years after its end.
Senior leaders, including Takaichi, have argued that Japan has apologized enough for what happened in the war. Takaichi herself has recently hinted at visiting Tokyo's contentious Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese war criminals are honored among the 2.5 million war dead. But many found it startling to see these history questions surface in a White House summit. Asked by a Japanese reporter on Thursday why he didn't inform allies ahead of the US attack on Iran, Trump cited Pearl Harbor to defend his decision, saying: "Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?"
- Reaction to Trump: Social media reaction ranged from accusations of ignorance and rudeness by the president to claims that he doesn't see Japan as an equal partner. There were calls for Japan to protest Trump's remarks. Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, wrote in an online opinion piece Saturday that the comment signaled that Trump was "not bound by existing American common sense." He added, "I get the impression that the comment was intended to bring the Japanese reporter or Ms. Takaichi into complicity in order to justify his 'sneak attack' on Iran during diplomatic negotiations and without telling allied countries." Japan's post-World War II constitution prohibits the use of force except for self-defense, but Takaichi and other officials are seeking to expand the military's role.
- Reaction to Takaichi: The hard-line conservative was praised for not reacting to the comments by Trump, letting them pass with a roll of her eyes and a glance at her ministers nearby. After all, the goal of the summit was to deepen ties with her most important ally, not debate World War II. She arrived shortly after Trump suggested that Japan was among the nations that did not quickly join his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz. Others criticized Takaichi for not speaking up. Hitoshi Tanaka, a former diplomat and a special adviser at the Japan Research Institute think tank, wrote on X that he felt embarrassed to see Takaichi flattering Trump. "As national leaders, they are equals. … To make an equal relationship is not to flatter," he said. "Just doing what pleases Trump and calling it a success if you are not hurt is too sad." Junji Miyako, 53, said the flattery felt more condescending than the president's Pearl Harbor remark. "I was so frustrated to see Takaichi didn't even say anything to Trump to stop the war," he said. "I think Trump's Pearl Harbor comment was stupid, but to me the war he started is a much bigger problem."
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