The bromance between Abe and Trump has been a bumpy road, but perhaps nothing has embarrassed Abe more than Trump divulging that Abe nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. It makes Abe look craven for toadying to Trump, the least popular U.S. president ever in Japan.

Browny* In an ideal world yes, you’re right. In the current state of geo politics,power shifts and team building Japan is just playing smart getting as close to the free world as possible.

Abe san is only required for photo opps. trump just uses Abe san as a how cool am I statement.

Abe san should distance himself from trump.

Gotta say that I am deeply disappointed in Kingston indicating that Trump is the least popular president ever. That statement MAY be so, but for lack of credible source/sources to support this statement, it appears as personal opinion. Is it any wonder that liberalism is considered rampant in colleges/universities? Oh. btw, I used to teach at Temple University in Japan. I truly do not care if anyone responds/supports Kingston. As a college/university teacher, there must be support for such a claim, and I do not see one here. Terribly disappointed.

"Trump, the least popular U.S. president ever in Japan."

Ever? I would venture to guess that Harry Truman was even less popular in Japan on or about 9 August 1945. Can't Japan Today do better than getting a quote from a fairly vapid "insta-pundit" like Jeff Kingston? And to use the word "bromance" here shows a misunderstanding of that word. Nobody can have a "bromance" with Donald Trump. The man is a malignant narcissist.

Trump, the least popular U.S. president ever in Japan.

So what?

Anybody who cares how much Trump is liked or disliked around the world, including the President himself

@Serrano "Congress has like 20% approval"--the problem is that just amounts to general griping over who voters elsewhere in the country selected. If you gauge popularity by how many in congress get reelected every two year election cycle, then it is over 90% support for incumbents by their local constituency, or double the approval rating you gave for Donald Trump. If only 20% truly supported the average rep or senator, then you could bet they would be voted out of office more than 10% of the time.

Everybody loves their own local representatives - they just don't like other peoples' local representatives

When will the fool PM learn that Trump does not care about him or Japan unless he can make money from Japan like he has in Russia. It is that simple. Abe is a fool, the bigger fool for not seeing Trump for the con man he is. But many republicans do not see that yet either.

RecklessToday 06:01 pm JST

I can assure you that Trump is not the most unpopular president in Japan ever. The Japanese I hear from in the "trenches"...

I would never offer any assurances about Japanese public opinion based on the views of the Japanese people I've spoken to. I wouldn't expect anyone to accept them if I did.

It makes Abe look craven for toadying to 

It makes Japan (whoever is PM) looks like it is managed by the POTUS (whoever it is). Well, it's been the situation since 1945.

people don't ask to be recommended for the Nobel. It's not a school art prize.

It's what exactly ? Nobel or Oscars, same business...

So is there proof this occured? Optically Trump gets to say he's nominated and Abe/Japan thinks he deserving. Given the NK situation and Japan having no SDF its not that wild that Japan needs to be in US's favor. The ball is in Nobel committee's court as I doubt they confirm or deny these nominations.

Abe's supine surrender to the demands of the self-infatuated Trump is another sad case of love in vain. In the unlikely event that Trump gets his coveted prize, it'll mean President Pence flying to Oslo to pick it up for his former boss who by November will be embarrassingly indisposed, either floundering in the self-made swamp of his corruption fighting lawsuits, or (let's hope) serving his sentence at long last.

Japan id not have and does not have nuclear arms and look how it is dominated by the US. Maybe NK does not want to be under the heel of the US as Japan is. The Japanese people must act on Trump's poodle Abe.

Not a bromance in my book, more like a one-sided infatuation/toxic relationship.

@Serrano "Congress has like 20% approval"--the problem is that just amounts to general griping over who voters elsewhere in the country selected. If you gauge popularity by how many in congress get reelected every two year election cycle, then it is over 90% support for incumbents by their local constituency, or double the approval rating you gave for Donald Trump. If only 20% truly supported the average rep or senator, then you could bet they would be voted out of office more than 10% of the time.

Abe will eventually get over it. He's been kissing the buttocks of US Presidents for some time now with no show of chapped lips yet.

Trump, the least popular U.S. president ever in Japan.

So what? Apparently he's not getting much credit for stopping N Korean missiles from flying over Japan.

Oh well. Anyway, he has somewhere around 45-50% approval among Americans whilst heh, our do-nothing Congress has like 20% approval.

Kingston is bang on. Had Abe nominated him of his own volition, that would have been stupid enough, but having nominated him because Trump demanded and already prepared the letter.... "craven" is being kind to Abe.

Ricky - not sure how Abe showed he was a man of integrity.

My feeling is he lost his sense of integrity by bending for Trump et al , by agreeing to a request for the Nobel nomination.

I'm sure he was put on the spot when his recommendation was asked for, but couldn't find it in himself to deny such a request - even if only on the basis that people don't ask to be recommended for the Nobel. It's not a school art prize.

And even if he did recommend Trump, why did he have to write a 5 page letter to polish the gilded one?

Smacks of a real sense of integrity to me.

Wasn’t a good look. Got to see how Trump uses his so called “mates” . The way Abe handled the situation though with all of the international media attention showed him to be a man of integrity. At least Abe backed up his mate when the heat was on, even if Trump couldn’t show the same sense. Not a huge fan, but kudos where kudos are due, he came off ok in this one in my books.

I don't always agree with JT but I like that they allow a voice like Kingston's to appear here, as opposed to that other JT.

It makes Abe look craven for toadying to Trump, the least popular U.S. president ever in Japan.

Yes. It does.

Trump still calls him "Abi",

Trump also called him "Prime Minister Shinzo" for a while. In reality, Shinzo owes his job to the US State Department (along with Keidanren and Nippon Kaigi) so it's hardly surprising to see him chasing after Trump on the golf course or grotesquely brown-nosing like this.

Gotta admit, it does make Abe look like a chump if this is really true. I have a suspicion Abe might've been just joking.

Trump still calls him "Abi",

Can't even get two syllables of his buddy's name right, such mutual respect. Abe, desperate and impotent without the US to coat tail with. Japan's influence in the region declining as does the US's.