{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1627343,
        "msgid": "trumps-pearl-harbor-jokes-alter-japanese-pms-facial-expression-1774021873",
        "date": "2026-03-20 22:01:24",
        "title": "Trump's Pearl Harbor Jokes Alter Japanese PM's Facial Expression",
        "author": "",
        "source": "DETIK",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Politics",
        "summary": "US President Donald Trump sparked discomfort during a White House meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi by jokingly referencing Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor while explaining a recent unannounced US-Israel strike on Iran. The remark, which highlighted historical sensitivities from World War II, elicited a visible reaction from Takaichi, underscoring ongoing diplomatic tensions despite the strong US-Japan alliance. This incident follows a pattern of Trump's provocative historical quips, including a prior comment to the German Chancellor about D-Day.",
        "content": "<p>Unexpectedly, US President Donald Trump referenced the Pearl Harbor\nattack while receiving an official visit from Japanese Prime Minister\nSanae Takaichi. Trump\u2019s remark caused Takaichi\u2019s reaction to change\nduring the meeting at the White House.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s statement appeared light-hearted, but it is likely to cause\nunease in a country that is now a staunch US ally. In a friendly meeting\nwith Takaichi, Trump spoke to reporters about why he did not inform\nallies before the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t tell anyone about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows\nmore about surprise than Japan, okay?\u201d Trump said in the Oval Office at\nthe White House in Washington DC, as reported by AFP on Friday\n(20\/3\/2026).<\/p>\n<p>Looking at Takaichi, the 79-year-old President said, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you\ntell me about Pearl Harbor, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Takaichi, who relied on a translator, said nothing but appeared to\nhold back a small sigh as she shifted in her chair, with at least one\ngroan heard in the crowded room filled with US and Japanese\nreporters.<\/p>\n<p>Brief Flashback to Pearl Harbor<\/p>\n<p>The Empire of Japan launched a preemptive strike on the main US base\nin the Pacific, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941, hoping to\ndeliver a decisive blow before the US was expected to enter World War\nII.<\/p>\n<p>More than 2,400 Americans were killed in the attack, which President\nFranklin D Roosevelt described as a \u201cday of infamy\u201d. The United States\nended World War II by dropping two atomic bombs on Japan, the only use\nof nuclear weapons in history.<\/p>\n<p>The wartime history remains sensitive for Japan, which has cultivated\na close alliance with the United States for decades and hopes to forget\nthe memories of the conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Takaichi herself is known for her nationalist views, having stated\nthat Japan fought defensively and has apologised too much to Asian\ncountries that suffered.<\/p>\n<p>Trump Not Once Makes a Jab<\/p>\n<p>Trump made another surprising jab at World War II last year when\nmeeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, telling him that the Allied\nforces\u2019 landing on D-Day in Nazi-occupied France \u201cwas not a pleasant day\nfor you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Merz responded that Germany owes a debt to America because in the\nlong term \u201cthis was the liberation of my country from Nazi\ndictatorship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump justified his attack on Iran by saying that the country would\nsoon have nuclear weapons\u2014a claim unsupported by the UN nuclear watchdog\nand most observers\u2014and called for the Iranian people to overthrow their\nclerical regime, although he has not made regime change a goal.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/trumps-pearl-harbor-jokes-alter-japanese-pms-facial-expression-1774021873",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}