Trump’s Pearl Harbour ‘joke’ falls flat in Japan, Takaichi praised for response

2026.03.20 11:20 Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raises her fist while delivering remarks during a dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday. Photo: Reuters People across Japan have recoiled in shock over US President Donald Trump’s joke about the attack on Pearl Harbour in the presence of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the White House, perceiving the incident as an insult to a long-time ally of Washington. On the other hand, Takaichi has received praise for her measured response even as she stiffened visibly over Trump’s comments at the joint press conference in the Oval Office on Thursday. In response to a question from a Japanese reporter about Washington’s failure to tell its allies before its February 28 attack on Iran, Trump replied: “We wanted a surprise. Who knows better about surprises than Japan. Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbour?” He was referring to the surprise attack by the Japanese military on the American naval base in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, which prompted the US to declare war against Japan and enter World War II the following day. The meeting between the two leaders came at a sensitive juncture in the bilateral relations amid the ongoing war by the US and Israel against Iran, with Japan and other economies looking to cushion the shock of surging oil prices after attacks targeting energy infrastructure across the Middle East. US President Donald Trump (right) and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House Thursday. Photo: Kyodo Trump has earlier called on Japan and other allies to play a part in escorting ships in the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran threatens to choke off maritime passage in the vital waterways, where about 20 per cent of the world’s oil and LNG passes through. Almost 90 per cent of Japanese respondents in recent surveys are strongly opposed to Tokyo’s military involvement in the conflict. “It was just a strange moment to watch on television. The answer he gave had litt

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