Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (left) meets with U.S. President Donald Trump during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House March 19, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
In a seemingly awkward moment in the Oval Office on Thursday, US President Donald Trump referenced Pearl Harbor during his first meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi after his landslide election victory.
Asked by a Japanese journalist why the United States did not inform its allies such as Japan before carrying out the attacks on Iran on February 28, the American president replied that it was to maintain the element of surprise.
“Who knows better than that. Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor? You believe in surprise much more than I do.”
Trump was referring to surprise Japanese attack on the American Pacific Fleet in 1941, which saw the deaths of more than 2,400 military personnel and dragged the United States into World War II.
Takaichi seemed to take a deep breath and leans back in his seat with a worried expression.
“Who knows better than that. Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor? You believe in surprise much more than I do.”
Donald Trump
American President
Trump said the surprise attack helped the United States, adding that it “destroyed 50 percent of what we planned” in Iran in the first two days.
During the meeting, Trump praised Japan for “stepping up” to contribute to efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz, “unlike NATO.”
Before the meeting, Japan, along with Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, had issued a joint statement declaring its readiness to “contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the strait”.
Trump had called on Japan and other countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, but Takaichi had would have said on Monday that there were no plans to send military ships to escort the boats in the Middle East.
His office also said in a post on that there was “no specific request from the United States to Japan to send ships.”
Prime Minister of Japan Tuesday said the government was considering what could be done within the country’s legislation. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are governed by its pacifist constitution, which renounces war and the threat or use of force to settle international disputes.
Asset had aimed to NATO allies earlier this week, saying the alliance not joining the war was “a very stupid mistake.”
In response, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius reportedly said on Monday: “This is not our war, we did not start it,” a stance that was also adopted by French President Emmanuel Macron.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday that “we have declared that as long as the war continues, we will not participate in guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, for example by military means.” according to Reuters.