U.S. President Donald Trump compared the U.S. strikes on Iran to Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour, as he defended the war he launched against Iran during a meeting on Thursday with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Washington.
When asked by a journalist why Trump had not informed U.S. allies about his war plans, he said, “We wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbour?”
Pointing to Takaichi, he added, “You believe in surprise, I think much more so than us.”
Visibly surprised, Takaichi’s eyes widened, and she shifted in her chair as Trump, seated beside her during their meeting in the Oval Office, evoked the moment that brought the U.S. into World War 2.
The Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, on December 7th, 1941, killed 2,390 Americans. The U.S. swiftly declared war on Japan within a day, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt calling a “date which shall live in infamy.”
The U.S. declared victory against Japan in August 1945, days after the U.S. deployed the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Japan’s Reaction
Trump’s remarks received a mixed reaction on the streets of Tokyo on Friday.
Yuta Nakamura, a 33-year-old engineer with a petrochemical company, told Reuters that he believed Takaichi had been put in a very difficult position, and praised her ability to “avoid upsetting Trump.”
“Personally, I took President Trump’s remark as just a joke. But because of her position, if she laughed too much, she’d likely face criticism, so I imagine it was quite hard for her to react.”
Tokio Washino, a retiree, said, “Given the historical context of Japan having done that, and with Donald bringing it up as an example, it makes me feel a bit uneasy as a Japanese citizen.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
