--- description: Social media reports said President Trump dumped an entire box of fish food in a koi pond in Japan while meeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. title: Trump Was Criticized for Overfeeding Fish. But Japan's Prime Minister Did It First image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1132547008e6f433/6988e4bacf40a83702c4a188/trump_abe_fish.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Donald Trump Was Criticized for Overfeeding Fish in Japan. But the Prime Minister Did It First  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 6, 2017 3:31 PM CUT  U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) feed the fish at a pond prior to their their working lunch at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan on Nov. 6, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) feed the fish at a pond prior to their their working lunch at Akasaka Palace in Tokyo, Japan on Nov. 6, 2017.Anadolu Agency—Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 6, 2017 3:31 PM CUT A report circulating about President Donald Trump in Japan seems a little fishy. When the president met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for lunch at the Government Palace Sunday, Abe had boxes full of fish food for the two leaders to feed the inhabitants of a Koi pond. Reports immediately began surfacing, mostly on on social media, that Trump had simply[ dumped his entire box](http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/06/politics/donald-trump-koi-pond-japan/index.html "undefined") of fish food into the water. > [](https://twitter.com/guardian/status/927421814577524736) > [](https://twitter.com/filmystic/status/927440566169763843) > [](https://twitter.com/zackwhittaker/status/927398233143414784) But the situation was taken out of context. The pool report explicitly notes that both Trump and Abe — not just the president — initially took portions of the fish food from the box before tossing out the remnants. “The two leaders then leaned out and began throwing spoonfuls of the food into the water, before eventually turning over the bowls and dumping the rest out,” the pool report reads. The full video of the moments shows this as well. And Twitter users were quick to correct the misinformation that seemed to be floating around. (Pun intended). > [](https://twitter.com/dats/status/927462150897094656) > [](https://twitter.com/MarkDice/status/927467799848534016) > [](https://twitter.com/christhebarker/status/927442730929803264) > [](https://twitter.com/NumbersMuncher/status/927531171789131783) > [](https://twitter.com/jimwaterson/status/927485172487983104) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5011386/donald-trump-fish-koi-japan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5011386/donald-trump-fish-koi-japan/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Was Criticized for Overfeeding Fish in Japan. 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