Tensions between the US and Japan over the Iran war remained evident as US President Donald Trump on Thursday hosted Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, even as he said Tokyo was answering his call for support in the effort.
“They are really stepping up to the plate,” unlike NATO allies, Trump said at the White House alongside Takaichi. “We’ve had tremendous support and relationship with Japan on everything.”
Still, the uncomfortable circumstances were on full display when a reporter asked Trump why the US had not informed Japan and European allies in advance of his strike on Iran.
Photo: Reuters
“Who knows better about surprise than Japan?” he said, turning to Takaichi with a chuckle. “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?”
Takaichi did not treat that as a laugh line, instead pursing her lips and casting glances to her advisers seated to the side in the Oval Office.
The line was remarkable both because it raised the World War II-era Japanese attack on the US and because it underscored Trump’s cavalier attitude toward informing allies of major military operations.
After Trump’s reference to the Pearl Harbor attack, a Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said the subject did not come up in closed-door talks between the leaders.
He added that while Japan had anticipated some surprises from Trump, that one was not expected.
The incident was also the latest instance of a foreign leader being put on the back foot in a White House meeting with Trump, who has looked to leverage those opportunities to extract concessions or criticize their policies as counter to US interests.
“We don’t need anything from Japan or anyone else, but I think it’s appropriate that they step up,” Trump said.
“I expect Japan to step up because we have that kind of relationship,” he said, adding that about 45,000 US soldiers are based there. “We spend a lot of money on Japan.”
At a news conference after meeting with Trump, Takaichi told reporters she had explained to the US president the legal limits to Japan’s involvement in securing the Strait of Hormuz.
At the same time, she highlighted areas of agreement, including a pledge to import more oil from the US and to cooperate on missile development.
Takaichi said she had brought to the US concrete proposals to help calm energy markets even as she forecast more pain for the global economy. She condemned Iranian strikes in neighboring countries and Tehran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
She added that Iran can never be allowed to have nuclear weapons — acknowledging the key rationale Trump has used for starting the war on Feb. 28.
Takaichi, who has enjoyed a warm relationship with Trump, is a vocal supporter of the alliance between the two countries. However, she also has to balance public opposition to the war at home and stringent domestic legal restrictions on deploying the nation’s military.
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