A gathering of Iranians living in Japan welcoming US and Israeli attacks on their home country, Iran. March 1, Minato Ward, Tokyo (©Sankei by Shimpei Okuhara).
On March 1, over 100 Iranians living in Japan gathered outside Iran's embassy in Tokyo's Minato ward. They were there to welcome the United States-Israeli military action in Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, arguing that only a rupture in the country's leadership can break decades of repression.
Their rally came as protests have spread across Iran since late 2025 against the enforcement of strict Islamic rules. Authorities have responded to these protests with force. Participants said the crackdown has produced casualties on a massive scale, reportedly in the tens of thousands. They urged regime change even as they acknowledged that fellow Iranians are paying a heavy price.
'Thank You, Trump'
"[Donald] Trump came to help Iran," an organizer from Iranians in Japan Seeking Freedom for Their Homeland shouted. "Khamenei was the world's greatest dictator and a terrorist," he told the rally. "What President Trump did was for world peace. Thank you for coming to help the Iranian people. Thank you, Trump."
As the flag of Iran's former Pahlavi monarchy, overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, waved above the sidewalk, rap music blasted from speakers, and attendees were offered cake and sweets. Some held up portraits of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince living in the US, and chanted Javid Shah, meaning "Long live the king."
Organizers said they pulled the event together on short notice after reports circulated on the morning of March 1 that Khamenei had died. About 110 Iranians living in Japan showed up.
No Other Way to Freedom
"I'm happy, really happy," said Roham Peiravani, a 28-year-old vocational-school student. He said Khamenei had "killed tens of thousands" of protest participants inside Iran and that Trump had "helped" Iranians by taking him out.
Reports say the US-Israeli attacks killed senior figures in Iran's military organization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. However, the airstrikes across the country have also left civilians, including elementary-school children, among the dead.
Asked about that, she looked conflicted. "Even so, this is the only way everyone can become free," she said quietly. "I can't think of any other way."
One of the organizers, a 61-year-old man who works in demolition, said, "All Iranians are happy. If the Revolutionary Guard's leaders die, the whole world will see peace." He added that Iran's government has fueled conflicts by sending weapons to countries across the Middle East. Of Iran's current Shiite Islamic system of clerical rule, he said it has brought only hardship. "There's no alcohol, no discos, no music, no Western clothes," he said. "And there's absolutely no freedom of expression."
The Enemy of My Enemy
A 52-year-old office worker who helped run the rally said he cried when he heard Ayatollah Khamenei had died.
"The faces of the young people who were killed after joining demonstrations in Iran came to mind," he said, referring to those who died in the authorities' crackdown.
He described the Iranian authorities as a government that "fires indiscriminately in the streets and kills its own people."
Without the power of the US and Israel, "that government can't be brought down," he said. "They carried out the operation in just a few hours, and I'm deeply grateful."
Another male participant underscored his desire to see the current regime brought down.
"You probably think what we're doing is strange, cheering while our own country is being attacked," he said. "But Trump isn't the enemy. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
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Author: Shimpei Okuhara, The Sankei Shimbun
