Why Didn't Trump Tell Japan Before Attacking Iran? Trump "Plays It Straight": Nobody Understands Sneak Attacks Better Than Japan, Takaichi Sanae Struggles to Keep Smiling

According to reports from Bloomberg and other foreign media, on the 19th local time, U.S. President Donald Trump met with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House. When answering reporters’ questions, he justified large-scale U.S. military actions against Iran, comparing the U.S. attack on Iran to Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.

Reports say that Trump was asked by a reporter why he did not inform Japan and other allies in advance about the war plans against Iran. Trump responded, “There’s one thing—you wouldn’t want to give away too many signals, right? When we strike, the attack is very fierce. We didn’t tell anyone because we wanted to surprise them.”

Trump also made a joke about “Pearl Harbor,” saying, “Who knows the surprise better than Japan? Why don’t you talk about Pearl Harbor?”

Video footage shows that after Trump finished speaking, there was a burst of laughter. Sitting nearby, Sanae Takaichi widened her eyes, shifted in her seat, and tried to keep a smile on her face.

The report notes that on December 7, 1941, the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, destroying and heavily damaging several American warships and over a hundred aircraft, resulting in about 2,400 American deaths. The next day, the United States declared war on Japan, marking the start of the Pacific War.

Headline: “Trump Meets with Takaichi, Compares U.S. Attack on Iran to Japan’s Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor”