TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his chief spokesman declined Monday to say if Abe had nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, though they praised Trump for dealings with North Korea.
Questioned in parliament about reports he had done so, Abe said: “In light of the Nobel Committee’s policy of not disclosing recommenders and nominees for 50 years, I decline to comment.”
Neither the prime minister nor his spokesman denied Trump’s comment to reporters Friday that Abe had nominated him. Trump said Abe had sent him a “beautiful copy” of a letter sent to the Nobel committee.
Trump’s claim could not be immediately verified.
Abe praised Trump on Monday in a lower house budget committee meeting.
“President Trump has been decisively responding toward resolving North Korea’s nuclear and missile problems, and last year he held historic U.S.-North Korea summit talks,” he said.
Abe added that Trump had also passed on to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Japan’s own concerns about abductions of Japanese citizens by Pyongyang, saying “he and the entire White House also actively cooperated in resolving the issue.
“I highly praise President Trump’s leadership,” Abe said.
The government’s top spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, echoed Abe in telling reporters that Japan highly valued Trump’s efforts on North Korea’s nuclear disarmament, but also refused other comment.
The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported on Sunday, citing unnamed government sources, that Abe nominated Trump’s at the president’s request.
The deadline each year for nominations is midnight, Jan. 31. According to the website of the Nobel committee, there are 304 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019. It said 219 are individuals and 85 are organizations.
The U.S. is Japan’s ally and anchor for national defense and Abe has assiduously cultivated cordial ties with Trump. He was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after he won the 2016 presidential election.
