Fact Check: Did Trump forget Japan’s prime minister’s name and call him 'Mr Japan'?

WASHINGTON, DC: A claim that President Donald Trump referred to Japan’s leader as “Mr Japan” during a 2025 interview has resurfaced online, prompting questions about whether he forgot the Japanese prime minister’s name.

Trump made the remark while discussing tariffs on Japanese cars during a Fox News interview aired in June 2025. Social media users have since shared the clip and debated what he meant. Let’s fact-check the claim.

Claim: Trump forgot the Japanese prime minister’s name

The rumor began circulating on X after a user shared a Fox News-style graphic claiming Trump forgot the Japanese prime minister’s name during an interview about tariffs and referred to him as “Mr. Japan.”

The post, captioned “LMFAOOOOO ???,” has garnered more than 104,000 views and attracted several comments from users reacting to the remark. One user joked, “‘Mr. Japan’ sounds like the final boss of geography.”

Another commented, “What makes this even more funny is that the Japanese prime minister is a woman🤣,” while a third wrote, “‘yeess yeess we love Mr. japan’ I can hear it already.”

The discussion also drew attention to the change in Japan’s leadership since Trump made the remark.

Fact Check: The claim is misleading

The claim is misleading. Trump did refer to Japan’s leader as “Mr. Japan” during a Fox News interview in June 2025. However, the remark alone does not confirm that he had forgotten the Japanese prime minister’s name.

There is no credible evidence that Trump or the White House later clarified the remark as intentional wordplay or disputed the accuracy of the quote.

Trump made the comment during an interview with host Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, which aired on June 29, 2025.

He was discussing plans to send letters to countries outlining tariffs as a pause on higher rates approached its expiration.

Using Japan as an example, Trump said, “I could send one to Japan. ‘Dear Mr. Japan, here’s the story. You’re going to pay a 25% tariff on your cars.’”

The remark was widely reported and interpreted as a verbal gaffe in which Trump appeared to blank on the Japanese prime minister’s name.

Shigeru Ishiba was Japan’s prime minister at the time. Trump had also met Ishiba in person during the Japanese leader’s visit to the White House in February 2025.

In October 2025, Sanae Takaichi succeeded Ishiba, becoming Japan’s first female prime minister. This change in leadership prompted some users who later shared the clip to comment on Trump’s use of “Mr.” when referring to Japan’s leader.

Although the quote is real, the claim that Trump forgot the prime minister’s name presents an interpretation of his remark as an established fact. The available evidence confirms that he used the phrase “Mr. Japan,” but it does not conclusively establish why he chose those words.