During a meeting at the White House, US President Donald Trump caused a wave of indignation in Japan with a joke about Pearl Harbor, which was made in the presence of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Answering a Japanese journalist’s question about why Washington did not warn Tokyo and other allies about the strike on Iran.
“We wanted a surprise. Who knows better about a surprise than Japan, right? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, huh? Right? – Trump said.
After these words, disputes began in Japan: some consider the statement unacceptable, others reproach Takaichi for not reacting publicly. Some Japanese politicians, scholars, and commentators said that Trump had no right to so lightly mention one of the most painful topics of World War II.
“The comment showed an unpleasant side of President Trump. He doesn’t care at all that the Japanese prime minister is sitting next to him,” Tamagawa said.
Professor at the University of Tokyo Izuru Makihara noted that many Japanese may simply perceive this as another inappropriate joke by Trump, but such words, in his opinion, are completely unacceptable. He warned:
“He might start saying things like, ‘Everything was fine in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, wasn’t it?’ The Japanese can’t accept that,” Izuru Makihara noted.
Attitudes toward the attack on Pearl Harbor in Japan itself are still mixed. Some conservative Japanese and older generations still justify the attack on December 7, 1941, as a response to pressure from the United States, while in the post-war period, after Japan’s official course towards pacifism, criticism of the attack intensified. The younger generation, as a rule, perceives those events much more detachedly. Against this background, Tokyo also fears that such statements could complicate relations between Japan and the United States.
Takaichi herself apparently tried to strike a warm tone with Trump during the visit, but this is precisely what caused a new wave of criticism in Japan. At the dinner, she praised Trump and his son’s appearance, and also told the US president:
“I firmly believe that only you, Donald, can achieve peace in the world.” Former diplomat Hitoshi Tanaka believes that excessive politeness may have worked against her: “While some flattery is fine, if it’s exaggerated, it ends up alienating viewers,”Takaichi said.
The prime minister’s office has not commented publicly on the episode, although some in Japan have expressed sympathy for her. Separately, it was previously reported that Japan intends to join the American missile defense project “Golden Dome”. Tokyo suggests that Washington may later ask the Japanese side to help with the production of missiles.
