TOKYO, Feb 17, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated
US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize last autumn after being
requested to do so by Washington, a Japanese newspaper reported Sunday.
Washington sounded out Tokyo over the possibility of nominating Trump for
the prize after his landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in
June last year, an unnamed Japanese government source told the Asahi Shimbun.
The report came after Trump’s claim on Friday that Abe had nominated him
for the prize.
Trump said Abe had sent him a copy of a five-page nomination letter
delivered to the Nobel Peace Prize committee in which the Japanese leader
praised his efforts in defusing tensions with Pyongyang.
“He said ‘I have nominated you respectfully on behalf of Japan. I am asking
them to give you the Nobel Peace Prize.’ I said thank you,” Trump told
reporters at the White House.
“Many other people feel that way, too. I’ll probably never get it. That’s
okay.”
Japanese officials did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment on Trump’s
claim or the newspaper report.