French media outlet RFI published an article, signed by Chu Ryōichi, a special correspondent based in Tokyo, stating that the Japanese government was greatly shocked by US President Trump's remark to Chinese President Xi Jinping that 'the US and China were allies during World War II.'

On the 24th, US President Trump stated at a welcome ceremony for Chinese President Xi Jinping held at the White House that 'the US and China were allies during World War II.' It is extremely unusual for a US president to refer to China as an 'ally' when mentioning World War II.

On the 25th, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, regarding the US-China summit held in Washington, stated, 'We will continue to watch with strong interest and closely cooperate with the United States.' Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara further emphasized that 'it is important for US-China relations to contribute to the stability of the international community, including Japan.'

Even at the welcome ceremony before the summit with President Xi, President Trump stated that China was an 'ally' of the US in World War II and said he wanted to look back on the two countries' 'great cause for which they fought together.' President Trump stated, 'The pursuit of common interests united the peoples of both countries beyond many differences, making us allies during World War II.' President Trump also mentioned the Flying Tigers, a US volunteer air group that supported China at the time, and called for, 'Just as our peoples worked together to win the war, President Xi Jinping and I will continue to cooperate and create an even more wonderful future for both countries.'

Chinese President Xi Jinping also referred to World War II in his speech at the dinner on the evening of the 24th, stating, 'More than 80 years ago, the peoples of China and the United States fought side by side, resisted the Japanese militarist aggressors, and opened the famous Hump Route. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chinese soldiers and civilians rescued hundreds of American pilots and paid the price of hundreds of thousands of lives. This friendship forged in blood and fire will surely be passed down from generation to generation.' President Xi's speech was seen as a response to President Trump's remarks.

The Hump Route was a route established to airlift supplies from northeastern India over the Himalayas to Kunming and Chengdu in China. Until then, China had been receiving supplies by land from Myanmar (then Burma) via the Burma Route, but with the Japanese army occupying Burma in 1942, the land route became unusable, and supplies had to be received by air. For transport planes at the time, high-altitude flights over the Himalayas and sudden turbulence were extremely dangerous, and many crashed due to interception by Japanese fighter planes, resulting in casualties among crew members.

Japanese government officials showed strong opposition to President Trump's statement that the US and China were allies in World War II. Major Japanese media outlets also uniformly reported this news.

In a press conference, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, in response to a question about whether the leaders of Japan and the United States would hold a phone call after the US-China summit, explained, 'There are no fixed plans at present.' (Translation/Editing by Kisaragi Hayato)