WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday invoked Japan's 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor to defend his decision to keep allies in the dark about the U.S. initial strikes on Iran.
During a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Washington, Trump said he believes Japan, unlike the NATO security alliance, is now "stepping up to the plate" over the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, without elaborating.
Trump also said he has a "very fine relationship" with Takaichi and praised Japan for buying "a lot of" U.S. military equipment.
But there was an uncomfortable moment for Takaichi in the Oval Office when Trump responded to a reporter's question about why he did not inform Japan or other allies before the United States and Israel launched air strikes against Iran on Feb. 28.
"We went in very hard, and we didn't tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise," Trump said. "Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor? Okay? Right?"
"Because of that surprise, we knocked out the first two days, we probably knocked out 50 percent of what we -- and much more than we anticipated doing," he said of the initial assault against Iran, while Takaichi raised her eyebrows at his reference to Japan's aerial attack on a naval base in Hawaii that resulted in the U.S. entry into World War II.
Trump's meeting with Takaichi took place after he recently increased pressure on other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, as well as on countries including China, Japan and South Korea, to send warships to help the United States clear the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for energy transport from the Middle East.
He has expressed frustration over their reluctance to step in, particularly taking aim at European allies.
During the part of the meeting open to the press on Thursday, the U.S. leader reiterated his pleas for more support from other countries.
"I expect Japan to step up, because, you know, we have that kind of relationship," he said. "We have 45,000 soldiers in Japan. We have, we spend a lot of money on Japan...so I expect, I'm not surprised that they would step up."
Noting also that nearly all of Japan's oil imports pass through the narrow maritime corridor, largely blocked by Iran after the war began about three weeks ago, he said Japan has a "big reason" to do more.
"We're defending the strait for everybody else. And then in the case of NATO, they don't want to help us defend the strait, and they're the ones that need it, but now they're getting much nicer because they're seeing my attitude," he added. "But as far as I'm concerned, it's too late."
Trump also said he is eager to know how Japan is doing in its ties with China. "I know they have a little bit of an edgy relationship, and I just like to know where it stands," he said.
Trump was originally slated to travel to Beijing from the end of this month, but the trip has been postponed due to the war with Iran, which shows no signs of an early end.
According to the U.S. and Japanese governments, Trump and Takaichi discussed the situation surrounding Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, not ruling out the use of force to take control of the self-ruled island.
"The two leaders committed to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of regional security and global prosperity, supported the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues through dialogue and opposed any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo, including by force or coercion," the White House said.
After hosting Takaichi at the White House for the first time since she became Japan's prime minister in October, Trump appeared satisfied with the outcome of his discussions with her.
At a dinner with Takaichi, attended by more than 50 people from both countries, Trump heaped praise on the decades-old bilateral alliance, saying it is the most successful one in the world.
"Our partnership has made both the United States and Japan stronger, freer and more successful than virtually any other nation on the planet, and under the leadership of the prime minister and myself, I know we will soon make that partnership even stronger and better than ever before. We have that relationship," he said.
