Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declines to say whether he nominated Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won't confirm or deny nominating President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize after Trump himself said he did, CNN reports.

Trump had said as much Friday, revealing that "Prime Minister Abe of Japan gave me the most beautiful copy of a letter that he sent to the people who give out a thing called the Nobel Prize. He said 'I have nominated you, respectfully, on behalf of Japan.'" This was reportedly because of Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

A report in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun subsequently suggested that Abe had indeed nominated Trump for the prize, but only after the U.S. government "informally" asked him to.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

On Monday, Abe said that he is "not saying that it is not the fact." But he said that "the Nobel Committee has decided not to disclose nominators and nominees for 50 years. I would like to refrain from commenting on it." Abe did, however, say he appreciates Trump's leadership and the fact that he “decisively responded toward North Korea's nuclear and missile issues, and held the historic summit meeting with North Korea last year, per The New York Times.