{"id":30825,"date":"2026-03-22T04:29:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T04:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=30825"},"modified":"2026-03-22T04:29:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T04:29:08","slug":"unease-in-japan-after-trump-cites-pearl-harbor-to-defend-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=30825","title":{"rendered":"Unease in Japan after Trump cites Pearl Harbor to defend Iran war"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

US president\u2019s reference to Japan\u2019s 1941 attack on the naval base in Hawaii has shaken the Japanese public, as PM Takaichi\u2019s silence gets a mixed reaction.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"WASHINGTON,
Japan’s Sanae Takaichi, left, meets President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday [Alex Wong\/Getty Images]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>There has been embarrassment, confusion, and unease in Japan after US President Donald Trump\u00a0used<\/a>\u00a0the Pearl Harbor attack during World War II to justify his secrecy before launching the war on Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump was asked by a reporter why he did not tell allies in Europe and Asia in advance of the US-Israel attack on Iran during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump cited Pearl Harbour to defend his decision, saying, \u201cWho knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn\u2019t you tell me about Pearl Harbour, OK?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the remarks, social media reaction has ranged from accusations of ignorance and rudeness by the US president to claims that he does not see Japan as an equal partner. There were calls for Japan to protest Trump\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, said in an opinion piece in the Nikkei newspaper on Saturday that the remarks signalled Trump is \u201cnot bound by existing American common sense\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI get the impression that the comment was intended to bring the Japanese reporter [who asked the question] or Ms. Takaichi into complicity to justify his \u2018sneak attack\u2019 on Iran during diplomatic negotiations and without telling allied countries,\u201d Watanabe wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a feeling that an\u00a0unspoken understanding exists<\/a>\u00a0between the United States and Japanese leaders to tread carefully on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both sides need 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan\u2019s post-World War II constitution bans the use of force except for its self-defence, but Takaichi and other officials are now seeking to expand the military\u2019s role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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