Japan PM nominated Trump for Nobel after US request: report

Tokyo: 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.