Nihon Hidankyo awarded Nobel Peace Prize for efforts over 68 years to draw attention to inhumanity of A-bombings, call for nuclear abolition
Oct. 12, 2024
by Kohei Okada, Staff Writer
On October 11, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Nihon Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), a nationwide organization of survivors of the atomic bombings, was selected as the recipient of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. For the 68 years since its founding, the Nihon Hidankyo organization has worked to draw global attention to the inhumane devastation caused by the atomic bombings and to continue its call for the elimination of nuclear weapons in the hopes that “there are no more A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) ever again,” efforts that garnered the organization high praise from the committee.
Seventy-nine years have passed since the U.S. military dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Amid repeated threats of nuclear weapons use by Russia after it invasion of Ukraine, as well as Israel’s continued fighting in the Palestine autonomous territory of Gaza, the award will serve as a call to the international community to avoid nuclear war and achieve world peace.
The Nobel Committee praised the group’s achievements in a statement. “The extraordinary efforts of Nihon Hidankyo and other representatives of the Hibakusha have contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo. The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honor all survivors who, despite physical suffering and painful memories, have chosen to use their costly experience to cultivate hope and engagement for peace.”
Toshiyuki Mimaki, 82, co-chair of the Nihon Hidankyo organization who also serves as chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo), participated in a press conference held at Hiroshima City Hall. Offering his recollections of the successive leaders of the A-bomb survivor movement, including the late Sunao Tsuboi, former chair of Nihon Hidankyo who died in 2021 at the age of 96, Mr. Mimaki expressed his pleasure at the announcement. “It is almost too good to be true. The award will serve as powerful impetus going forward for our call to eliminate nuclear weapons and achieve lasting peace,” said Mr. Mimaki.
Nihon Hidankyo was formed by A-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 10, 1956. Nihon Hidankyo is now made up of prefectural organizations throughout Japan, including Hiroshima Hidankyo (chaired by Mr. Mimaki) in Hiroshima. The other Hiroshima Hidankyo (chaired by Kunihiko Sakuma) participates in the group as an observer. While Nihon Hidankyo demands that Japan’s national government provide compensation to A-bomb survivors for damages from the atomic bombings, it also continues to dispatch delegations to international gatherings such as review conferences of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), provide testimonies of members’ experiences in the atomic bombings, and call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Starting in April 2016, with cooperation from other peace groups in Japan and overseas, the organization engaged in the Hibakusha Appeal, an international signature drive urging governments throughout the world to formulate a treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons. The drive succeeded in collecting around 13.7 million signatures. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), adopted at the United Nations in July 2017 with the support of 122 nations and regions, refers to “Hibakusha” in its preamble and bans in a comprehensive manner the use, threats of use, and possession of nuclear weapons. The TPNW came into effect on January 22, 2021.
The Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony will be held in Oslo on December 10, and the prize comes with a monetary award of 11 million Swedish kronor (around 150 million yen).
This is the second time that the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to a Japanese-affiliated individual or group, following Eisaku Sato, a former Japan prime minister who was awarded the prize in 1974 for his efforts to “promote non-nuclear policy” and other reasons. When the non-governmental organization the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was awarded the prize in 2017 for its contributions to establishment of the TPNW, Setsuko Thurlow, 92, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima who resides in Canada, delivered the organization’s acceptance speech at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony.
by Yo Kono, and Yu Kawakami, Staff Writers
On October 11, after announcement of the decision to award the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to the Nihon Hidankyo organization, Hiroshima City Mayor Kazumi Matsui joyfully responded to questions from the media. “I want to express my sincerest congratulations to the organization. I assume its contributions to enactment of the TPNW were given high marks,” said Mr. Matsui.
Touching on the tense international situation involving nuclear weapons, Mr. Matsui reaffirmed his determination. “The group’s receipt of the prize sends an important message alerting the world and calling for appropriate and effective action. My hope is that we can continue to work together with Nihon Hidankyo to that end.”
Hiroshima Prefectural Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki also offered his congratulations to the organization in an interview with the media at the Hiroshima Prefectural government offices. “I appreciate that the committee recognized the A-bomb survivors by casting a spotlight on their untiring efforts,” said Mr. Yuzaki. He added, “I hope the group’s being awarded the prize serves as a starting point for people throughout the world to commit to acting on the goal of nuclear abolition.”
Keywords
Nihon Hidankyo
The official name of the organization is the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations. The group was formed on August 10, 1956, day two of the Second World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, held in Nagasaki City. The group’s declaration of establishment “Message to the World” indicates, “We hereby reaffirm our pledge to save humanity from its crisis through our experiences.” In 1984, Nihon Hidankyo put together basic demands from the A-bomb survivors and situated the “elimination of nuclear weapons” and “national compensation for A-bombing damages” as the two main pillars of its movement. The organization is headed by three co-chair representatives—Toshiyuki Mimaki, Terumi Tanaka, and Shigemitsu Tanaka—with offices in Tokyo’s Minato Ward.
Nobel Peace Prize
This prize is awarded to an individual or group for their contributions to human peace, including international peace activities, as well as measures to address disarmament, poverty, and environmental issues. The prize was first awarded in 1901 based on the last will and testament of Alfred Nobel (1833–1896), the Swedish inventor of dynamite. The committee consists of five members appointed by the Norwegian Parliament and is responsible for selecting recipients, with the prize awarded in Oslo, Norway. The award ceremony is held on December 10, the date of Mr. Nobel’s death.
(Originally published on October 12, 2024)
On October 11, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Nihon Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), a nationwide organization of survivors of the atomic bombings, was selected as the recipient of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. For the 68 years since its founding, the Nihon Hidankyo organization has worked to draw global attention to the inhumane devastation caused by the atomic bombings and to continue its call for the elimination of nuclear weapons in the hopes that “there are no more A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) ever again,” efforts that garnered the organization high praise from the committee.
Seventy-nine years have passed since the U.S. military dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Amid repeated threats of nuclear weapons use by Russia after it invasion of Ukraine, as well as Israel’s continued fighting in the Palestine autonomous territory of Gaza, the award will serve as a call to the international community to avoid nuclear war and achieve world peace.
The Nobel Committee praised the group’s achievements in a statement. “The extraordinary efforts of Nihon Hidankyo and other representatives of the Hibakusha have contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo. The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honor all survivors who, despite physical suffering and painful memories, have chosen to use their costly experience to cultivate hope and engagement for peace.”
Toshiyuki Mimaki, 82, co-chair of the Nihon Hidankyo organization who also serves as chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo), participated in a press conference held at Hiroshima City Hall. Offering his recollections of the successive leaders of the A-bomb survivor movement, including the late Sunao Tsuboi, former chair of Nihon Hidankyo who died in 2021 at the age of 96, Mr. Mimaki expressed his pleasure at the announcement. “It is almost too good to be true. The award will serve as powerful impetus going forward for our call to eliminate nuclear weapons and achieve lasting peace,” said Mr. Mimaki.
Nihon Hidankyo was formed by A-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 10, 1956. Nihon Hidankyo is now made up of prefectural organizations throughout Japan, including Hiroshima Hidankyo (chaired by Mr. Mimaki) in Hiroshima. The other Hiroshima Hidankyo (chaired by Kunihiko Sakuma) participates in the group as an observer. While Nihon Hidankyo demands that Japan’s national government provide compensation to A-bomb survivors for damages from the atomic bombings, it also continues to dispatch delegations to international gatherings such as review conferences of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), provide testimonies of members’ experiences in the atomic bombings, and call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Starting in April 2016, with cooperation from other peace groups in Japan and overseas, the organization engaged in the Hibakusha Appeal, an international signature drive urging governments throughout the world to formulate a treaty to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons. The drive succeeded in collecting around 13.7 million signatures. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), adopted at the United Nations in July 2017 with the support of 122 nations and regions, refers to “Hibakusha” in its preamble and bans in a comprehensive manner the use, threats of use, and possession of nuclear weapons. The TPNW came into effect on January 22, 2021.
The Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony will be held in Oslo on December 10, and the prize comes with a monetary award of 11 million Swedish kronor (around 150 million yen).
This is the second time that the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to a Japanese-affiliated individual or group, following Eisaku Sato, a former Japan prime minister who was awarded the prize in 1974 for his efforts to “promote non-nuclear policy” and other reasons. When the non-governmental organization the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was awarded the prize in 2017 for its contributions to establishment of the TPNW, Setsuko Thurlow, 92, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima who resides in Canada, delivered the organization’s acceptance speech at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony.
Hiroshima City Mayor, Prefectural Governor offer congratulatory messages honoring the group’s contributions to enactment of TPNW
by Yo Kono, and Yu Kawakami, Staff Writers
On October 11, after announcement of the decision to award the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to the Nihon Hidankyo organization, Hiroshima City Mayor Kazumi Matsui joyfully responded to questions from the media. “I want to express my sincerest congratulations to the organization. I assume its contributions to enactment of the TPNW were given high marks,” said Mr. Matsui.
Touching on the tense international situation involving nuclear weapons, Mr. Matsui reaffirmed his determination. “The group’s receipt of the prize sends an important message alerting the world and calling for appropriate and effective action. My hope is that we can continue to work together with Nihon Hidankyo to that end.”
Hiroshima Prefectural Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki also offered his congratulations to the organization in an interview with the media at the Hiroshima Prefectural government offices. “I appreciate that the committee recognized the A-bomb survivors by casting a spotlight on their untiring efforts,” said Mr. Yuzaki. He added, “I hope the group’s being awarded the prize serves as a starting point for people throughout the world to commit to acting on the goal of nuclear abolition.”
Keywords
Nihon Hidankyo
The official name of the organization is the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations. The group was formed on August 10, 1956, day two of the Second World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, held in Nagasaki City. The group’s declaration of establishment “Message to the World” indicates, “We hereby reaffirm our pledge to save humanity from its crisis through our experiences.” In 1984, Nihon Hidankyo put together basic demands from the A-bomb survivors and situated the “elimination of nuclear weapons” and “national compensation for A-bombing damages” as the two main pillars of its movement. The organization is headed by three co-chair representatives—Toshiyuki Mimaki, Terumi Tanaka, and Shigemitsu Tanaka—with offices in Tokyo’s Minato Ward.
Nobel Peace Prize
This prize is awarded to an individual or group for their contributions to human peace, including international peace activities, as well as measures to address disarmament, poverty, and environmental issues. The prize was first awarded in 1901 based on the last will and testament of Alfred Nobel (1833–1896), the Swedish inventor of dynamite. The committee consists of five members appointed by the Norwegian Parliament and is responsible for selecting recipients, with the prize awarded in Oslo, Norway. The award ceremony is held on December 10, the date of Mr. Nobel’s death.
(Originally published on October 12, 2024)