Surprise, embarrassment, unease in Japan after Trump uses Pearl Harbor to defend Iran war - FOSTER KLUGĀ andĀ MARI YAMAGUCHI
TOKYO (AP) ā Senior U.S. and Japanese officials tend to shy away from anything but very careful public comments about Japanās 1941 sneak attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor. So there was embarrassment, confusion and unease on Saturday in Japan afterĀ President Donald Trump casually used the World War II attackĀ to justify his secrecy before launching the war against Iran.
The Japanese discomfort was compounded by the fact that JapaneseĀ Prime Minister Sanae TakaichiĀ was sitting awkwardly at Trumpās side as he spoke.
Partly, the reaction is linked to the crucial security and economic role that the U.S. plays for Japan, its top ally in the region. Put simply, Japan needs to make sure the U.S. relationship thrives. Thatās why Takaichi was in Washington.
But itās also a reflection of just how fresh the political debate about Japanās role in World War II remains here, even 80 years after its end.
Senior leaders, including Takaichi, have argued that Japan has apologized enough for what happened in the war. Takaichi herself has recently hinted at visiting Tokyoās controversial Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese war criminals are honored among the 2.5 million war dead.
It is, however, somewhat startling for Japan to see these history questions spill over into a White House summit.
On Thursday, when asked by a Japanese reporter why he didnāt tell allies in Europe and Asia ahead of the U.S. attack on Iran, Trump cited Pearl Harbor to defend his decision, saying, āWho knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didnāt you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK?ā
The liberal leaning Asahi newspaper said in an editorial Saturday that Trumpās comments āshould not be overlooked.ā
āMaking such a remark to justify a sneak attack and boast about its outcome is a piece of nonsense that ignores lessons from history,ā Asahi said.
Social media reaction has ranged from accusations of ignorance and rudeness by the U.S. president to claims that he didnāt see Japan as an equal partner. There were calls for Japan to protest what Trump said.
Tsuneo Watanabe, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, said in an online opinion piece published in the Nikkei newspaper Saturday that the comment signaled that Trump was ānot bound by existing American common sense.ā
āI get the impression that the comment was intended to bring the Japanese reporter (who asked the question) or Ms. Takaichi into complicity in order to justify his āsneak attackā on Iran during diplomatic negotiations and without telling allied countries,ā Watanabe said.
Thereās also a feeling that an unspoken understanding exists between U.S. and Japanese leaders to tread carefully on the subject. Both sides need each other, with Washington relying on Japan to host 50,000 troops and an array of powerful hi-tech weapons, and Japan relying on the U.S. nuclear umbrella to deter hostile, nuclear-armed neighbors.
Japanās post-World War IIĀ constitution bans the use of forceĀ except for its self-defense, but Takaichi and other officials are now seeking to expand the militaryās role.
When it comes to U.S.-Japan reconciliation, many here look to the example of former leaders Barack Obama and Shinzo Abe, who in 2016 paid tribute together at the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor and at the Hiroshima Peace Park.
It is actually amazing that the entire human species is still around:
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