Trump compares Iran strikes to Pearl Harbor in meeting with Japan’s leader

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday compared recent U.S. strikes on Iran to Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, as he defended his administration’s military actions during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House.

Responding to a question about why allies were not informed in advance, Trump said the element of surprise was intentional. “We wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan?” he said, referencing the attack on Attack on Pearl Harbor.

The remark appeared to catch Takaichi off guard, as she reacted visibly during the Oval Office meeting.

Japan’s 1941 attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii killed more than 2,300 Americans and led the United States to enter World War II. Then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously described the day as “a date which will live in infamy.”

The war ended in 1945 after U.S. atomic bombings of Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Trump’s comments drew mixed reactions in Japan. Some observers said the comparison was inappropriate given its historical sensitivity, while others downplayed it as a joke.

Speaking in Tokyo, engineer Yuta Nakamura said Takaichi had been placed in a difficult position but handled the moment carefully. Meanwhile, retiree Tokio Washino said the reference made him feel uneasy, given Japan’s wartime history.