Nobel peace laureate Nihon Hidankyo’s long-cherished desire to “save humanity” must be taken seriously
Oct. 12, 2024
by Yumi Kanazaki, Executive Director, Hiroshima Peace Media Center
“Thus, we have reassured our will to save humanity from its crisis through the lessons learned from our experiences, while at the same time saving ourselves.” This, is part of the “Message to the World,” a statement read aloud on August 10, 1956 at the inaugural meeting of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) 11 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by the U.S. atomic bombings.
It was a time of struggle against dire poverty and discrimination for atomic bomb survivors, who suffered the most miserable deaths of their family members, with burn scars and keloids carved on their bodies, and unbearable agony as the result of exposure to atomic bomb radiation, with no law to support them. Ichiro Moritaki and others who experienced the atomic bombing of Hiroshima resolved to “save humanity from its crisis.” Their appeal, which stuck to their starting point that “nuclear weapons and humanity cannot coexist,” bore fruit 79 years after the tragedy in the form of the Nobel Peace Prize.
When the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, some people in the A-bombed cities expressed disappointment Nihon Hidankyo was not jointly honored. Ironically, however, it seems timely the prize was awarded to the organization this year.
Nine nuclear powers, including the United States and Great Britain, have turned their backs on the hard-won Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW); the danger of the use of nuclear weapons is increasing, with Russia and Israel threatening to use them. Violence and hatred have prevailed in the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip and other parts of the world. That is why the voices of the atomic bomb survivors, who absolutely reject war and nuclear weapons, now carries weight.
What we should not forget is that the Japanese government, which lays claim to the status of having been the only nation to have experienced nuclear attacks during wartime, openly declares its dependence of the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
The average age of atomic bomb survivors is over 85. More than a few survivors and people of the A-bombed cities must have thought of the victims who perished that day, and the survivors who had already passed away, when they heard the news. At the same time, I cannot help but feel anger that the realization of their long-cherished desire to “save humanity from its crisis” has been prevented by the logic of nuclear deterrence of the powerful nations.
It is meaningless to hear congratulations from the statesmen of the nuclear powers and the countries dependent on their weapons if they are only words. Survivors and the next generations taking over the anti-nuclear campaign should use this as an opportunity to renew their resolve in order to push these countries more than ever to “act” for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
(Originally published on October 12, 2024)
“Thus, we have reassured our will to save humanity from its crisis through the lessons learned from our experiences, while at the same time saving ourselves.” This, is part of the “Message to the World,” a statement read aloud on August 10, 1956 at the inaugural meeting of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) 11 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by the U.S. atomic bombings.
It was a time of struggle against dire poverty and discrimination for atomic bomb survivors, who suffered the most miserable deaths of their family members, with burn scars and keloids carved on their bodies, and unbearable agony as the result of exposure to atomic bomb radiation, with no law to support them. Ichiro Moritaki and others who experienced the atomic bombing of Hiroshima resolved to “save humanity from its crisis.” Their appeal, which stuck to their starting point that “nuclear weapons and humanity cannot coexist,” bore fruit 79 years after the tragedy in the form of the Nobel Peace Prize.
When the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, some people in the A-bombed cities expressed disappointment Nihon Hidankyo was not jointly honored. Ironically, however, it seems timely the prize was awarded to the organization this year.
Nine nuclear powers, including the United States and Great Britain, have turned their backs on the hard-won Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW); the danger of the use of nuclear weapons is increasing, with Russia and Israel threatening to use them. Violence and hatred have prevailed in the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip and other parts of the world. That is why the voices of the atomic bomb survivors, who absolutely reject war and nuclear weapons, now carries weight.
What we should not forget is that the Japanese government, which lays claim to the status of having been the only nation to have experienced nuclear attacks during wartime, openly declares its dependence of the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
The average age of atomic bomb survivors is over 85. More than a few survivors and people of the A-bombed cities must have thought of the victims who perished that day, and the survivors who had already passed away, when they heard the news. At the same time, I cannot help but feel anger that the realization of their long-cherished desire to “save humanity from its crisis” has been prevented by the logic of nuclear deterrence of the powerful nations.
It is meaningless to hear congratulations from the statesmen of the nuclear powers and the countries dependent on their weapons if they are only words. Survivors and the next generations taking over the anti-nuclear campaign should use this as an opportunity to renew their resolve in order to push these countries more than ever to “act” for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
(Originally published on October 12, 2024)
