Japan launched a surprise attack on the US port of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The attack forced the US to enter World War II. In response, the US dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities in 1945. After the war, the US intervened administratively by stationing troops in Japan from 1945 to 1952. After that, Japan was freed by forcing it to draft a pacifist constitution. Today, Japan and the US are inseparable allies. When the top leaders of the two countries meet, the context of the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack is not usually raised. It is not considered appropriate to open old wounds. But Trump is considered a different kind of leader. During a conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sane on Thursday, he jokingly brought up the context of Pearl Harbor.

Trump, who was sitting next to Takaichi, was asked by reporters, “Why weren’t Japan and other allies informed about the attack on Iran?”

Trump replied, “Because we wanted to surprise them.” Who else has known as much surprise as Japan?’ He added, looking at Takaichi, ‘You didn’t tell me about the Pearl Harbor attack, did you?’

The officials and journalists present in the meeting room laughed for a moment. ‘You believe in surprises—I think more than we do,’ Trump added.

Takaichi’s eyes widened as Trump spoke confidently. Then she took a deep breath and folded her arms in silence.

The United States, which forced Japan to adopt a pacifist constitution after the Pearl Harbor attack, felt the effects of this during the Cold War. Japan, which had become a close ally of the United States, could not play an active role in confronting communist influence in Asia because of the constitution.

In 2016, 75 years after the Pearl Harbor attack, US President Barack Obama and then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the attack site.

Abe paid tribute to the dead there. On that occasion, Obama said, “Abe’s visit is a reminder of how deep reconciliation between nations and peoples is possible.”

According to Mireya Solis, director of the Center for Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Trump’s predecessors did not readily raise the issue of Pearl Harbor with Japanese leaders, given the potential impact on Japan-US relations.

She said, “Trump’s statement is strange and shocking. The Japanese prime minister has come to continue shared thinking and planning. In such a situation, the strong relationship and unity between Japan and the United States should be highlighted, not the bitterness or conflict of the past.”

What happened at Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor is a US naval base on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii, USA. On December 7, 1941, at 7:55 a.m. local time, about 350 Japanese warplanes attacked here.

Japan bombed continuously for about two hours. The attack was carried out simultaneously from the air and sea. Japan attacked with 6 aircraft carriers, 5 submarines,  heavy cruisers, battleships, and elite cruisers. 

The attack on Pearl Harbor was not planned by the US. Because, at that time, Japanese representatives in Washington were meeting with US Secretary of State Cardell Hull to discuss the need to end the economic embargo on Japan.

Since the negotiations were ongoing and positive, the US did not think about the Japanese attack. Another thing is that Pearl Harbor in the US was very far from Japan. Moreover, the United States had not yet taken sides in the World War. However, Japan was deeply angry at the help that the United States and Western countries had given to China.  Since Sunday was a public holiday and Americans slept late, Japan had targeted Pearl Harbor since morning.  With bombs falling from all sides, the American security forces did not even think about where to fire for their own safety. One after another, the Japanese destroyed airfields, buildings, storage facilities, and ships. In this attack