Japan saw embarrassment, confusion and unease on Saturday after President Donald Trump cited Japan’s 1941 attack on US forces at Pearl Harbor to justify his secrecy before launching the war against Iran, with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seated beside him in Washington.
The discomfort was compounded by the sensitivity surrounding public comments on Pearl Harbor by senior US and Japanese officials, who tend to avoid anything but careful remarks on the subject, Politico reported.
On Thursday, when asked by a Japanese reporter why he did not tell allies in Europe and Asia 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?”
The liberal leaning Asahi newspaper said in an editorial Saturday that Trump’s comments “should not be overlooked.”
“Making such a remark to justify a sneak attack and boast about its outcome is a piece of nonsense that ignores lessons from history,” Asahi said.
Social media reaction ranged from accusations of ignorance and rudeness by the US president to claims that he did not see Japan as an equal partner. There were calls for Japan to protest what Trump said.
Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, said in an online opinion piece published in the Nikkei newspaper Saturday that the comment signalled that Trump was “not bound by existing American common sense.”
“I get the impression that the comment was intended to bring the Japanese reporter (who asked the question) or Ms. Takaichi into complicity in order to justify his ‘sneak attack’ on Iran during diplomatic negotiations and without telling allied countries,” Watanabe said.
Part of the reaction was linked to the crucial security and economic role the US played for Japan, its top ally in the region, and Japan’s need to ensure the relationship thrived, which was why Takaichi was in Washington.
The episode also reflected how fresh the political debate about Japan’s role in World War II remained, even 80 years after its end. Senior leaders, including Takaichi, argued that Japan apologised enough for what happened in the war. Takaichi recently hinted at visiting Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese war criminals were honoured among the 2.5 million war dead.
It was seen as startling in Japan that these history questions spilled over into a White House summit.
There was also a feeling that an unspoken understanding existed between US and Japanese leaders to tread carefully on the subject. Both sides needed each other, with Washington relying on Japan to host 50,000 troops and an array of powerful hi-tech weapons, and Japan relying on the US nuclear umbrella to deter hostile, nuclear-armed neighbours.
Japan’s post-World War II constitution banned the use of force except for its self-defence, but Takaichi and other officials were seeking to expand the military’s role.
Many in Japan pointed to the example of former leaders Barack Obama and Shinzo Abe, who in 2016 paid tribute together at the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor and at the Hiroshima Peace Park.
Takaichi, described as a hard-line conservative, was praised for not reacting to Trump’s comments, letting them pass with a roll of her eyes and a glance at her ministers seated nearby. Her summit goal was to deepen ties with her most important ally, not debate World War II. She arrived shortly after Trump suggested Japan was among the nations that did not quickly join his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz.
Some, however, criticised 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.”
There was initial blame on social media of the Japanese reporter who asked the question that prompted Trump’s Pearl Harbor comment.
The reporter, Morio Chijiiwa with TV Asahi, later said on a talk show that he asked the question to represent the feelings of Japanese who were not happy about Trump’s one-sided attack on Iran, and because other countries, including Japan, were being asked to help out.
“So that’s why I asked the question. I was meaning to say, Why didn’t you tell us, why are you troubling us?” he said. “Then President Trump hit back with the Pearl Harbor attack. … I found it extremely awkward for him to change the subject.”
Junji Miyako, 53, said Takaichi flattering Trump felt more condescending to him 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.”
