Donald Trump’s administration is bailing out Japan’s currency in a move indicative of the close relationship between Washington and Tokyo. 

But the President couldn’t resist a quip while explaining his economic intervention. 

A reporter asked Trump on Sunday why the US stepped in to help Japan’s yen.

‘Because we have a good relationship with Japan,’ he said. ‘They have a weakening yen, and they wanted a little bit of help.’ 

‘And we’re always there for Japan,’ Trump continued, adding slyly: ‘Japan’s always very good to us, with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor.’

Japan’s infamous December 1941 bombing of the US naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, led the US to declare war on Japan and formally enter World War II. But in the postwar period, the countries have become close allies.

After the yen slipped to a 40-year low against the dollar last month, both the US and Japanese governments bought sums of the currency on Friday to prop it up, sending it to its strongest position against the dollar since mid-May as of Monday afternoon.

It was reportedly the first joint US-Japan intervention on the yen since 2011, and the first joint buy since 1998. 

Bessent’s notepad also included the sum ‘$5-10 bil,’ possibly referring to the size of the intervention the US Treasury planned on behalf of the slipping Japanese currency

A graphic in Tokyo shows the progress of the yen against the US dollar on Monday as it recovered from its 40-year low

The action was reported after Reuters photographed a to-do note saying ‘buy Japanese yen’ in front of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a Friday Cabinet meeting at Camp David.

The exchange was accomplished after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York sold euros in order to buy yen, according to the Financial Times.

‘Friday’s coordinated foreign exchange actions countered disorderly yen movements,’ Bessent wrote on X on Sunday, adding that the US ‘would not hesitate’ to join similar intervention in the future.

Japan’s currency has diminished in value for multiple reasons, including the unusually low interest rates set by its central bank.

The Treasury Department did not respond to the Daily Mail’s request for comment on the yen-boosting move. 

Trump previously jabbed Japan over the Pearl Harbor bombing during a public meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Asked then why the US had begun attacking Iran without consulting allies first, Trump said he wanted to preserve the element of surprise.

‘Who knows better about surprise than Japan?’ Trump quipped, facetiously complaining that he hadn’t been told about Pearl Harbor in advance.

The reference came as a shock, given that politicians and diplomats from both countries typically refrain from casual public discussion of the 1941 surprise attack.

But Takaichi, who has enjoyed Trump’s endorsement in past elections, kept her reaction subdued.