The Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement founded by atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
As witnesses to the only two nuclear bombs ever deployed in warfare, the group’s members, also referred to as Hibakusha, have committed their lives to advocating for a world free from nuclear arms.
“Hibakusha is being honored with the Peace Prize for its relentless pursuit of a nuclear-free world and for providing testimony that emphasizes nuclear weapons must never be utilized again,” stated the Norwegian Nobel Committee in its announcement.
“The Hibakusha enable us to articulate the unarticulatable, confront the unfathomable, and begin to understand the profound pain and suffering inflicted by nuclear weapons,” the committee added.
Mr. Mimaki, a survivor himself, expressed that the recognition would significantly enhance their efforts to show that the eradication of nuclear weapons is achievable.
“(This victory) will serve as a powerful appeal to the global community that the elimination of nuclear arms and lasting peace can be realized,” he remarked. “Nuclear weapons must be completely abolished.”
BREAKING NEWS: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has announced that the 2024 #NobelPeacePrize will be awarded to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is being honored for its… pic.twitter.com/YVXwnwVBQO
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 11, 2024
Without identifying specific nations, Joergen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, cautioned that countries possessing nuclear weapons should not consider their use.
“Contemporary nuclear arms possess significantly greater destructive capabilities. They can annihilate millions and would have catastrophic impacts on the climate,” he emphasized during a press conference. “A nuclear conflict could obliterate our civilization.”
Mr. Frydnes commended “the extraordinary efforts” of Nihon Hidankyo and other Hibakusha representatives for their contributions toward establishing “the nuclear taboo”.
“It is, therefore, concerning that this condemnation against the use of nuclear weapons is currently being challenged,” he remarked.
Nuclear powers have a ‘responsibility’ to uphold the nuclear taboo, asserted Jorgen Watne Frydnes.
Next year marks the 80th anniversary of the United States’ bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
With this award, the committee aims to highlight a “very precarious situation” globally, particularly regarding China-US and Russia-US relationships, which have become “the most toxic” since the Cold War’s conclusion, as stated by Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
“In the event of military conflict, the risk of escalation to nuclear weapon use increases… Nihon Hidankyo provides an essential perspective on the devastating nature of nuclear arms,” he noted.
Mr. Smith added that the committee has achieved a “triple strike” with this prize: raising awareness about the human struggles of nuclear bomb survivors; underscoring the dangers posed by nuclear arms; and reminding us that the world has lived without their use for nearly 80 years.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has consistently highlighted the issue of nuclear weapons, having previously awarded ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, in 2017.
This peace prize is the fifth Nobel awarded this week, following those in literature, chemistry, physics, and medicine.
Imprisoned Iranian women’s rights advocate Narges Mohammadi was the winner last year.
The Nobel Peace Prize, valued at 11 million Swedish crowns (approximately €1 million), is set to be presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the passing of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who established the awards in his will in 1895.
