Time to honor hibakusha and act: Hidankyo Nobel Peace Prize ceremony
Dec. 11, 2024
OSLO — by Fumiyasu Miyano, Staff Writer
“We have kept our silence, hid our faces, scattered ourselves and survived in a corner of the society.”
That statement in the “Message to the World” declaration issued at the Conference of A-bomb Sufferers in Hiroshima Prefecture, held in Hiroshima City in March 1956, reveals a sense of isolation that A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) were feeling in post-war Japanese society. In May of that year, the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo) was established, followed by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), in August. Since then, over the course of 68 years, the organizations have continued to make appeals for the prohibition of atomic and hydrogen bombs and the elimination of nuclear weapons. The courage of the hibakusha, who grasped hands and stood up in protest, has prevented a third use of nuclear weapons in war and has been honored with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize.
At the award ceremony held in Oslo City Hall in Norway, I watched on from the balcony of the venue’s second floor, deeply impressed as Toshiyuki Mimaki and Shigemitsu Tanaka, Nihon Hidankyo’s two co-chairs, accepted the award certificate and medal. The path taken by the A-bomb survivors, upholding the noble aim of saving humanity and continuing their cry of “do not wage nuclear war; get rid of nuclear weapons” at a great physical and psychological cost to themselves, is well deserving of the Peace Prize.
Since the prize announcement was made, I have observed some hesitation by the survivors. They have remarked, “The previous leaders of our campaign have already passed away,” and “One wonders if this will truly lead to the elimination of nuclear weapons.” Regardless, they have looked ahead. The declaration of the Conference of A-bomb Sufferers in Hiroshima Prefecture, drafted by the late Ichiro Moritaki, also includes the sentence, “We, who were not killed at that unforgettable moment.” The survivors have carried on their shoulders the thoughts and feelings of the victims who lost their lives in the atomic bombing conducted by the U.S. military.
Hisako Kimura, 87, who experienced the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and today lives in Sendai City, has been surrounded by journalists every morning and evening since she arrived in Oslo. She said, “I have to speak now.” The venue drawing worldwide attention has elevated the survivors’ sense of mission.
More than that, they are likely feeling a sense of urgency. For them, the current state of the international community is deeply frustrating, because it still requires the calls from aging hibakusha amid the escalating risk of nuclear weapons use.
At a press conference held in Oslo on December 9, the day prior to the ceremony, Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, was asked whether the award would change the world. “It depends on how young people shape the future,” Mr. Tanaka replied. A-bomb survivors are not the only people who carry the mission of realizing a world without nuclear weapons and war. It will depend on the actions of all humanity.
(Originally published on December 11, 2024)
“We have kept our silence, hid our faces, scattered ourselves and survived in a corner of the society.”
That statement in the “Message to the World” declaration issued at the Conference of A-bomb Sufferers in Hiroshima Prefecture, held in Hiroshima City in March 1956, reveals a sense of isolation that A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) were feeling in post-war Japanese society. In May of that year, the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo) was established, followed by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), in August. Since then, over the course of 68 years, the organizations have continued to make appeals for the prohibition of atomic and hydrogen bombs and the elimination of nuclear weapons. The courage of the hibakusha, who grasped hands and stood up in protest, has prevented a third use of nuclear weapons in war and has been honored with the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize.
At the award ceremony held in Oslo City Hall in Norway, I watched on from the balcony of the venue’s second floor, deeply impressed as Toshiyuki Mimaki and Shigemitsu Tanaka, Nihon Hidankyo’s two co-chairs, accepted the award certificate and medal. The path taken by the A-bomb survivors, upholding the noble aim of saving humanity and continuing their cry of “do not wage nuclear war; get rid of nuclear weapons” at a great physical and psychological cost to themselves, is well deserving of the Peace Prize.
Since the prize announcement was made, I have observed some hesitation by the survivors. They have remarked, “The previous leaders of our campaign have already passed away,” and “One wonders if this will truly lead to the elimination of nuclear weapons.” Regardless, they have looked ahead. The declaration of the Conference of A-bomb Sufferers in Hiroshima Prefecture, drafted by the late Ichiro Moritaki, also includes the sentence, “We, who were not killed at that unforgettable moment.” The survivors have carried on their shoulders the thoughts and feelings of the victims who lost their lives in the atomic bombing conducted by the U.S. military.
Hisako Kimura, 87, who experienced the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and today lives in Sendai City, has been surrounded by journalists every morning and evening since she arrived in Oslo. She said, “I have to speak now.” The venue drawing worldwide attention has elevated the survivors’ sense of mission.
More than that, they are likely feeling a sense of urgency. For them, the current state of the international community is deeply frustrating, because it still requires the calls from aging hibakusha amid the escalating risk of nuclear weapons use.
At a press conference held in Oslo on December 9, the day prior to the ceremony, Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, was asked whether the award would change the world. “It depends on how young people shape the future,” Mr. Tanaka replied. A-bomb survivors are not the only people who carry the mission of realizing a world without nuclear weapons and war. It will depend on the actions of all humanity.
(Originally published on December 11, 2024)
