Watch: Trump’s Pearl Harbor joke tests US-Japan alliance amid Iran tensions
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday 19 March 2026 to reaffirm the US-Japan alliance amid heightened maritime security concerns in the Strait of Hormuz, disrupted by the US-Iran war. During the bilateral meeting in the Oval Office, Donald Trump drew criticism after referencing Pearl Harbor while responding to questions about the lack of warning before US strikes on Iran. Turning to Sanae Takaichi, he invoked the idea of surprise, quipping, “Who knows better about surprise than Japan?”, prompting an awkward silence. The remark underscored the pressure Washington is placing on Tokyo to increase its patrols in the Strait of Hormuz, despite Japan’s pacifist constitution. The Pearl Harbor attack of 7 December 1941, in which 2,403 Americans were killed, marked the United States’ entry into the Second World War. Japan now hosts approximately 45,000 US troops and is facing demands to support operations linked to Iran, including a proposed $550bn Alaskan oil deal seen as economic leverage. Sanae Takaichi maintained diplomatic neutrality without responding publicly.
