President Donald Trump jokingly reopened very old wounds Thursday after a Japanese reporter asked why U.S. allies weren’t warned in the lead-up to Operation Epic Fury.
The president announced the surprise U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 in a video posted to Truth Social, garnering complaints from NATO countries over the lack of information. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said “Washington did not consult us,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said the strikes were “outside international law.” During an Oval Office joint presser with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan, a Japanese reporter asked Trump why allies weren’t warned about the surprise attack.
“Japan and the U.S. are very good friends, but one question,” the reporter asked, “Why didn’t you tell U.S. allies in Europe and Asia, like Japan, about the war before attacking Iran? So, we are very confused about it, we Japanese citizens.”
The president answered that he did not “want to signal “too much,” adding that he wanted to retain the element of surprise. “Who knows better about surprise than Japan?” Trump quickly quipped drawing laughter. He then added, “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?”
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Takaichi, who was elected in a landslide in February 2026, has enjoyed a friendship with the president. Trump celebrated the Japanese prime minister’s win in a Truth Social post, congratulating her party’s coalition and calling Takaichi “a highly respected and very popular leader.” He added that Japan “will always have my strong support.” (RELATED :Japan PM Sanae Takaichi Sets Sights On Communist China After Landslide Election)
Despite the friendship, Japan has resisted calls to aid the U.S. in the Iran war. The Japan Times reported Monday that the prime minister had not made a decision “regarding the dispatch of escort vessels” to the Strait of Hormuz, referring to the president’s request for nations to send ships to the area. Trump, in response, wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, “WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”
Takaichi said in a Wednesday press conference she would tell the president “in accordance with Japanese law, what we can and cannot do” during her meeting with the president on Thursday.
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