Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sat next to him in Washington on Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump cited Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor to justify his secrecy ahead of launching war against Iran.Politico reported that the unease was exacerbated by the sensitivity of senior U.S. and Japanese officials to public comments about Pearl Harbor, who tended to avoid cautious comments on the issue.When a Japanese reporter asked him on Thursday why he didn’t tell allies in Europe and Asia before the U.S. attacked Iran, Trump cited Pearl Harbor to defend his decision, saying: “Who knows better about surprises than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, okay?”The liberal-leaning Asahi Shimbun said in an editorial on Saturday that Trump’s remarks “should not be ignored.”“Making such remarks to justify the sneak attack and bragging about its results is nonsense that ignores the lessons of history,” Asahi said.Reactions on social media ranged from accusing the US president of ignorance and rudeness to claims he did not view Japan as an equal partner. Some called for Japan to protest Trump’s remarks.Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, said in an online opinion piece published by Nikkei on Saturday that the remarks showed Trump was “not bound by existing American common sense.”“My impression is that this comment was intended to make the Japanese journalist (who asked the question) or Ms. Takaichi complicit in justifying his ‘sneak attack’ on Iran during diplomatic negotiations without telling allies,” Watanabe said.Part of the reaction has to do with the key security and economic role played by Japan, America’s top ally in the region, and Japan’s need to ensure relations between the two countries thrive, which is why the market is high in Washington.The incident also reflects that even 80 years after the end of World War II, the political debate over Japan’s role in World War II remains fresh. Senior leaders, including Takaichi, believe Japan has apologized enough for what happened during the war. Takaichi recently hinted at a visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, where Japanese war criminals among the 2.5 million war dead are enshrined.The spillover of these historical issues into the White House summit was seen as alarming in Japan.There is also a sense that there is an unspoken understanding between the leaders of the United States and Japan to proceed with caution on this issue. Both sides need each other, with Washington relying on Japan’s 50,000-strong army and a powerful array of high-tech weapons, while Japan relies on the U.S. nuclear umbrella to deter hostile nuclear-armed neighbors.Japan’s post-World War II constitution prohibits the use of force except in self-defense, but Takaichi and other officials are seeking to expand the military’s role.Many in Japan point to former leaders Barack Obama and Shinzo Abe, who paid tribute together in 2016 at the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima Peace Park.The senior, described as a hardline conservative, was praised for not reacting to Trump’s comments, which she simply rolled her eyes and glanced at ministers sitting nearby and let them pass. Her overriding goal is to deepen ties with her most important allies, not debate World War II. She arrived shortly after Trump suggested Japan was among the countries that had not quickly joined his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz.However, some people criticized the first year of high school for not speaking out.Hitoshi Tanaka, a former diplomat and special adviser to the Japan Research Institute think tank, wrote on X that he was embarrassed to see Takaichi fawning over Trump.“As national leaders, they are equals… Building an equal relationship is not flattery,” he said. “It’s so sad to just do what makes Trump happy and call it a success without getting hurt.”Social media initially blamed the Japanese reporter for asking questions that prompted Trump’s comments about Pearl Harbor.TV Asahi reporter Senyoshi Iwamori later said on a talk show that he asked the question to represent Japanese dissatisfaction with Trump’s unilateral attack on Iran as other countries, including Japan, were asked to help.“So that’s why I’m asking this question. I mean, why don’t you tell us, why are you putting us in trouble?” he said. “Then President Trump fired back with the Pearl Harbor attack. … I found it very embarrassing that he changed the subject.”Junji Miyako, 53, said Takaichi’s flattery of Trump struck him as more condescending than the president’s Pearl Harbor remarks.“I was very frustrated to see that Takahiro didn’t even say anything to Trump about stopping the war,” he said. “I think Trump’s comments about Pearl Harbor were stupid, but to me the war he started is a bigger issue.”
