Abe mum on reports he nominated Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his chief spokesman have declined to say if Abe nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Abe noted while speaking in Parliament on Monday that the Nobel committee does not disclose the parties behind nominations for a half-century. He said, "I thus decline comment."

The government's top spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, told reporters that Japan highly valued Trump's efforts on North Korea's nuclear disarmament, but he echoed Abe in refusing other comment.

Trump said Friday that Abe had nominated him, sending him a "beautiful copy" of a letter sent to the committee. That claim could not be immediately verified.

The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported on Sunday, citing unnamed government sources, that Abe nominated Trump's at the president's request.