Watch Japanese PM’s reaction when Trump makes Pearl Harbor joke

March 20, 2026 | 9:37am

President Trump defended his decision not to give advance information about the timing of his attack on Iran to Japan — citing Tokyo’s 1941 surprise raid that killed 2,403 Americans at Pearl Harbor. “We didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise,” Trump told a Japanese journalist, as the country’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sat next to him in the Oval Office. “Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” Trump said.