Group Receives Honor “For Its Efforts to Achieve a World Free of Nuclear Weapons”
OSLO: The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese anti-nuclear organization comprised of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, commonly known as Hibakusha.
Founded in 1956, the group received the prestigious accolade “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again,” according to Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.
The group’s co-leader expressed surprise at receiving the award.
“Never did I dream this could happen,” said Toshiyuki Mimaki, visibly emotional, during a press conference in Tokyo.
The Nobel committee raised concerns that the international “nuclear taboo” established in response to the atomic bombings of August 1945 is “under pressure.” The ongoing war in Ukraine has intensified worries about the possibility of nuclear conflict, particularly following Russia’s announcement to reassess its nuclear weapons policy.
“This year’s prize emphasizes the necessity of maintaining this nuclear taboo, and we all share this responsibility, especially the nuclear powers,” Frydnes remarked to reporters.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described the recognition for Nihon Hidankyo as “extremely meaningful.”
The committee pointed out that next year marks the 80th anniversary of the two American atomic bombings, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 120,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with a similar number succumbing later to burn and radiation-related injuries.
