On October 11, the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award in Oslo.
Also known as hibakusha, the group is considered one of the most well-known organizations raising awareness about nuclear weapons. It has sent delegations to the United Nations to bring attention to the need for nuclear disarmament, among other activities.
In a call from Japanese broadcaster NHK at 6 PM local time, the head of the organization, Toshiyuki Mimaki, reacted to the announcement.
"It's like a dream," he said. "I can't believe it."
The Nobel Committee cited the Japanese organization 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," said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman in the announcement.
A Message in a Time of Tensions
The timing of the award is significant. August 2025 will mark 80 years since two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan.
Without citing a country name, Frydnes acknowledged the alarming reality of increasing pressure in the world to use nuclear weapons. This is thought to refer to Russia's threats during its war against Ukraine. It could also refer to countries like Iran and North Korea that are ramping up their nuclear capabilities and creating deadlier weapons.
"The nuclear powers are modernizing and upgrading their arsenals; new countries appear to be preparing to acquire nuclear weapons; and threats are being made to use nuclear weapons in ongoing warfare. At this moment in human history, it is worth reminding ourselves what nuclear weapons are: the most destructive weapons the world has ever seen," said the Nobel Committee chair.
The Power of Testimony
Frydnes acknowledged that a key part of our awareness of nuclear weapons can be traced back to the hibakusha. This is thanks to the power of their personal stories of the horrors they experienced from the atomic bombs. It is these stories that inspired the nuclear taboo, a standard by which nuclear weapons use is considered morally unacceptable.
Hibakusha testimonies created a strong foundation that will carry forward the memory of those terrible events. It will survive, even after the survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki have long passed away. Frydnes elaborated:
The hibakusha help us to describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable, and to somehow grasp the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons.
ー Jorgen Watne Frydnes
In awarding this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, Frydnes said the Committee wished 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."
A Peace Message from Japan
Two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan on August 6 (Hiroshima) and 9 (Nagasaki), 1945. A cumulative 200,000 people are thought to have died in the blasts. Survivors founded Nihon Hidankyo in 1956. At the time there was also heightened awareness about nuclear radiation found in tuna.
In the 68 years since its inception, the organization has gathered millions of signatures supporting its efforts to bring about a world without nuclear weapons.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons legally bans the development and possession of nuclear weapons. During negotiations on the convention, the Japanese organization played an important role in building public support for the treaty. Along the way, they also collected approximately 3 million signatures supporting the convention.
Since then, the "International Hibakusha Signatures" campaign has called for all nations to join the treaty. It has submitted over 13.7 million signatures to the United Nations.
It has been 50 years since the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a Japanese person or body. The last time was in 1974, when former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato was recognized for declaring the three non-nuclear principles. They are: "not possessing, not producing and not allowing the entry of nuclear weapons" into the country. Sato was also praised for bringing Japan into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
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Author: Arielle Busetto
