‘Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?’
US President Donald Trump surprised Japan’s prime minister on Thursday by mentioning the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor; A seemingly light-hearted statement is sure to create unrest in a country that is now a firm ally of the United States.
In a rather friendly meeting with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Trump told reporters why he did not inform his allies before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.
“We didn’t tell anyone about this because we wanted a surprise. Who knows the surprise better than Japan, okay?” Trump spoke in the Oval Office.
The 79-year-old president looked at Takaichi and said: “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, okay?”
Trusting the translator, Takaichi said nothing but seemed to hold back a slight sigh as he shifted in his chair; There was at least one audible groan in the room full of U.S. and Japanese reporters.
The Empire of Japan arrived at the key US Pacific base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, during US World War II. He launched a preemptive strike, hoping to strike a decisive blow before the expected entry into World War II.
More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt said would be “infamous.” The United States ended World War II by dropping two atomic bombs on Japan, the only country in history where nuclear weapons were used.
Wartime history remains sensitive for the Japanese, who have developed a close alliance with the United States for decades and hope to move beyond memories of the conflict.
Takaichi is known for his nationalist views, saying that in the past Japan fought defensive wars and apologized profusely to Asian countries that suffered.
Trump made another jaw-dropping allusion to World War II when he met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last year, telling him that the D-Day landing of Allied troops in Nazi-occupied France was “not a pleasant day for you.”
Merz stated that the Germans owed something to the Americans in the long run and said, “This was the liberation of my country from the Nazi dictatorship.”
Trump justified his attack on Iran by saying Iran was about to have nuclear weapons (a claim not supported by the UN nuclear watchdog and most observers) and called on Iranians to overthrow their religious state, but he stopped short of making regime change a goal.
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