WASHINGTON — President Trump defended his decision not to give Japan advance warning of his attack on Iran — citing Tokyo’s 1941 surprise raid that killed 2,403 Americans at Pearl Harbor.
“We didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise,” Trump told a Japanese journalist Thursday as the country’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sat next to him in the Oval Office.
“Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” Trump said, adding: “You believe in surprise, I think, much more so than us.
Trump made the comments during a meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in the Oval Office. AFP via Getty Images“And because of that surprise, we knocked out, [in] the first two days, we probably knocked out 50% of what we — and much more than we anticipated doing. So if I go and tell everybody about it, there’s no longer a surprise, right?”
Takaichi kept a mostly straight face as Trump referenced her nation’s World War II massacre of US military members in Hawaii and did not provide her own thoughts on the analogy.
‘Really stepping up to the plate’
Trump welcomed Takaichi warmly to the White House and said Tokyo was “really stepping up to the plate” in backing up the US position against Iran — “unlike NATO,” he added.
The two leaders were expected to discuss the possible use of Japanese mine-sweeping boats to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — the Iranian closure of which has caused a massive spike in global fuel prices since the start of combat operations Feb. 28.
Takaichi kept a mostly straight face as Trump referenced her nation’s World War II massacre of US military members in Hawaii and did not provide her own thoughts on the analogy. Getty Images
Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor killed thousands of Americans. REUTERSTakaichi described herself as offering strong diplomatic support for Trump’s goals of reopening the strait and preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
“I am ready to reach out to many of the partners in the international community to achieve our objective together,” she said.
“So today I came here at the White House to directly convey this message to you. And speaking of the situation in Iran, Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed.”
Takaichi described herself as offering strong diplomatic support for Trump’s goals of reopening the strait and preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. REUTERS
“I am ready to reach out to many of the partners in the international community to achieve our objective together,” Takaichi said. Getty ImagesTakaichi added that “Japan condemns Iran’s actions, such as attacking the neighboring region, and also the de facto or effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
She said that Japan’s foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, had a “direct exchange” with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and “urged Iran to stop such activities.”
The visiting leader said that she “brought specific proposals to calm down the global energy market,” without specifying what they were — warning, “the global economy is now about to experience huge hits.”
