Trump’s Pearl Harbor Remark Creates Awkward Moment for Japanese Prime Minister

by Zulfick Farzan 20-03-2026 | 10:48 AM

COLOMBO (News 1st)l A visibly uncomfortable moment emerged during a public interaction involving US President Donald Trump and the Prime Minister of Japan, after Trump referenced Pearl Harbor while responding to a question about the lack of prior notice given to US allies before the attack on Iran.

It began when Trump selected a journalist from Japan to ask a question, making remarks that drew attention in the room. “Let me pick a beautiful looking person from a beautiful person from Japan. A question for the prime minister. Go ahead. Yeah. Oh, he doesn't believe he's beautiful. Oh, he's just sounding shy. Go ahead,” Trump said before the journalist spoke.

The journalist prefaced his question by highlighting the close relationship between the two countries. “Japan and US are very good friend,” he said, before raising concerns over the recent military action. He asked why the United States had not informed its allies in Europe and Asia, including Japan, before attacking Iran, adding that the absence of prior communication had caused confusion within the Japanese system.

As Trump responded, the Japanese Prime Minister appeared visibly uncomfortable, particularly as the answer turned to the issue of military surprise.

“Well, one thing you don't want to signal too much,” Trump said. “You know, when we go in, we went in very hard and we didn't tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise.” Trump then made a remark that shifted the tone of the exchange.

“Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Okay. Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor? Okay. Right,” he said.

The reference to Pearl Harbor appeared to heighten the unease, with the Japanese Prime Minister maintaining a restrained demeanor as Trump continued.

“You know, he's asking me now you believe in surprise. I think much more so than us,” Trump said. “And uh we had to surprise him and we did.”

Trump went on to justify the decision by pointing to what he described as the effectiveness of the operation.

“And because of that surprise, we knocked out the first two days, we probably knocked out 50% of what we and much more than we anticipated doing,” he said. “So if I go and tell everybody about it, there's no longer a surprise, right? Okay.”