Trump remark mars US-Japan talks

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, with discussions heavily focused on the ongoing US-Iran conflict and Japan's potential involvement.

The two sides also announced new agreements in investment, energy, and defense. However, analysts warned that Washington backing Japan's military expansion could heighten regional security tensions.

The meeting is Takaichi's first visit to the United States since taking office last year, and was largely overshadowed by US-led military actions against Iran and the resulting international ramifications.

During a press meeting in the Oval Office, Trump responded to a Japanese reporter's question about why allies weren't consulted before the strikes against Iran by referencing Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

"We wanted surprise," Trump said. "Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?" Takaichi's eyes widened, visibly surprised by the comment.

Despite this awkward exchange, Trump expressed satisfaction with Japan's support for the US regarding the Iran conflict. "They are really stepping up to the plate," Trump said of Japan, "unlike NATO". But he did not provide specific details about what help Japan might provide.

At the beginning of the meeting, Takaichi told Trump that she believed he is the only one who could bring peace to the world, a remark that immediately drew criticism from opposition parties.

Taku Yamazoe, policy chief of the Japanese Communist Party, said on social media that the US's illegal "preemptive strikes" are undermining the international order and bringing hardship to countries around the world, including Japan. He criticized Takaichi's remarks as "shocking".

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, also called Takaichi's remarks "a serious problem".

According to Fuji Television, Junya Ogawa, leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, said on Friday that Takaichi's description of Trump clearly diverges from Japanese public perception.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting in the White House, Takaichi said she had briefed Trump on what support Japan could and could not provide in the Strait of Hormuz under its laws. She did not elaborate publicly.

Tomoko Tamura, chair of the Japanese Communist Party, questioned the government on the social media platform X, asking what exactly had been explained as "possible actions", urging the government to provide a clear and thorough explanation to the public.

Tamura also argued that what Japan can and should do is to call on the US and Israel to halt the crisis they have triggered and to stop attacks on Iran.

New deals

Beyond the Iran issue, the leaders also discussed bilateral cooperation in energy, investment, and defense. This included the announcement of over $70 billion in new investments for US energy projects.

According to the White House website, the US welcomed Japan's pledge to rapidly strengthen its own defense capabilities and boost its defense budget. The two sides also "affirmed their commitment to deploying advanced capabilities in Japan to enable a strong denial defense posture" and to advancing joint missile production.

Da Zhigang, a research fellow at the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies of the Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, noted that the US-Japan military collaboration is driven by ulterior motives and severely undermines security in the Asia-Pacific region.

Zhang Yulai, a professor at the Japan Institute of Nankai University in Tianjin, echoed this view, saying the US intends to use Japan to alleviate its financial pressure of maintaining troops stationed there, while Japan is using the opportunity to break free from post-war constraints and strengthen its own military capabilities in preparation for eventually becoming a "normal country".

Zhang further highlighted that the so-called denial defense posture, which is a new military development goal recently proposed by Japan, represents a departure from the nation's traditional "exclusively defense-oriented" policy.

By advancing "denial defense posture", jointly developing and producing missiles, and deploying advanced military assets, the US and Japan will only intensify regional arms races, escalate bloc confrontations, significantly heighten the risk of conflicts in the Asia-Pacific, said Da.

Agencies contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at yangran1@chinadaily.com.cn