Donald Trump made a joke about Pearl Harbor in front of the less-than-impressed Japanese Prime Minister.

On Thursday (19 March), Sanae Takaichi sat down with the president in the Oval Office on the first day of a three-day trip to Washington. She is one of the first allied leaders to meet with Mr Trump since the Iran war broke out.

When he was questioned by a Japanese reporter on why he did not inform his allies that he would be launching a bombing campaign, Mr Trump said that he wanted to catch Iran off-guard.

“Who knows better about surprises than Japan?,” he said, as Ms Tackaichi appeared to recoil in her seat. “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” he laughed as the Japan PM looked visibly uncomfortable and the room fell silent.