Nihon Hidankyo: Japan anti-nuke group wins Nobel Peace Prize
October 11, 2024
The Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo is the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to achieve a world free from nuclear weapons.
The Nobel committee said survivors' testimonies had made a 'unique' contribution to generating 'widespread opposition to nuclear weapons around the world'Image: Javad Parsa/NTB Scanpix via AP/picture alliance
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The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday named Japanese anti-nuclear organization Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as the winner of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
The aging survivors of the two nuclear detonations, known as "hibakusha," continue to campaign for a nuclear arms ban as they push to keep alive their efforts among younger generations.
What the Nobel Committee said
Joergen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the award was made as the "taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure."
Watne Frydnes said the award was made to the group "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."
"This year's prize is a prize that focuses on the necessity of upholding this nuclear taboo. And we have all a responsibility, particularly the nuclear powers," Watne Frydnes told reporters.
He said testimonies of the survivors of the cities bombed at the end of World War II had made a "unique" contribution to generating "widespread opposition to nuclear weapons around the world."
Watne Frydnes said the 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."
Hiroshima horrors endure through memorial and survivors
The Peace Memorial Museum and atomic bomb survivors are a reminder of the horror that took place on August 6, 1945. As the number of living survivors dwindles, documenting their stories is becoming ever more vital.
Image: Reinhard Schultz/imago images
Remembering the tragic events of August 1945
What was previously scorched rubble is now Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. The world's first atomic bomb used as a weapon of war was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing around half of the city's population of 350,000. Almost everything within a 2,000-meter (6,500-foot) radius was incinerated. Three days after the tragedy, another atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki.
This artist is performing a dance in front of the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, as part of the ceremonies marking the 79th anniversary of the tragedy. Every year, August 6 is commemorated not only to honor all the unidentified innocent victims of the attack, but as a reminder of the devastating impact of nuclear bombs and the need to free the world from such weapons of mass destruction.
Image: David Mareuil/Anadolu/picture alliance
Museum and memories
Located in the Peace Park created in the aftermath of the war, the museum designed by Kenzo Tange opened its doors in 1955. Renovated in 2019, it highlights testimonies of survivors, known as the "hibakusha," and offers public talks where they share their stories. The museum offers a virtual reenactment of the moment the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, seen here.
Image: Aimie Eliot/DW
Exhibits bring tragedy closer to home
The museum displays objects in their original state that bear witness to the violence of the explosion, including the clothes that people wore, the bags that they carried and the daily necessities that were in their homes.
The violence of the explosion is illustrated through objects such as this burned tricycle belonging to 3-year-old Shinichi Tetsuya. It was first buried with the boy's remains, then dug up by his father who wanted to convey the horror of nuclear weapons.
Image: Kimimasa Mayama/dpa/picture alliance
Icon for peace
Sadako Sasaki's parents bequeathed a number of accessories that once belonged to the little girl to the museum. Sasaki, exposed to radiation at the age of 2, later died of leukemia. A statue of "genbaku no ko no zo" — literally "Statue of the Children of the Atomic Bomb" — is displayed at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima City. The model of the statue is Sasaki, who became an icon for peace.
Image: Takuya Yoshino/AP/picture alliance
Ensuring stories don't fade
Sadae Kasaoka was at home, 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) from the hypocenter of the explosion, when the atomic bomb fell. "I saw in the sky the color of the rising sun, and a loud roaring sound. The window broke, shattering into pieces that came flying toward me," she remembers. In 2005, after years of silence, she became part of Hiroshima City's survivors' and successors' program.
Image: Aimie Eliot/DW
Vivid memories of horror
This drawing, made by student Minami Ogawa from Hiroshima, is based on the accounts of survivor Sadae Kasaoka and is used in her presentation to illustrate her story. The 12-year-old Kasaoka lost her parents in the bombing. Her father came home severely burned, and she couldn’t recognize him. He died two days later.
Image: Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Only structure left standing
Genbaku Dome, near Memorial Park, was the only structure left standing after the bomb exploded. It has remained a symbol of the terror and destructive force of nuclear weapons. In 1996, it was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.
Image: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press/ZUMAPRESS.com/picture alliance
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As it made the announcement, the committee warned of growing concerns as "new countries appear to be prepared to acquire nuclear weapons."
Responding to a question about whether rhetoric from Russia about the use of nuclear weapons had influenced the decision, Watne Frydnes said such threats put pressure on the norm of non-use.
"It is alarming to see how threats of use is also damaging this norm. To uphold an international strong taboo against the use is crucial for all of humanity," he added.
Toshiyuki Mimaki, the co-head of Nihon Hidankyo, expressed his surprise at being given the award.
"Never did I dream this could happen," Mimaki told reporters with tears in his eyes. He said the win would be "a great force to appeal to the world that the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting peace can be achieved."
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the award was "extremely meaningful."
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Facts about the Nobel Peace Prize
Prize founder Alfred Nobel stated in his will that the prize should be awarded for "the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
The prize is awarded in Oslo — the only one of six annual Nobel prizes not to be awarded in Stockholm — as decreed by Nobel.
Notable Nobel Peace laureates include imprisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, who was awarded the prize last year, and human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights group Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties, who were collectively awarded the prize in 2022.
The Nobel prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million).
This year, the prize was announced against a backdrop of devastating conflicts, notably in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan. In total, 286 candidates were nominated, including 197 individuals and 89 organizations.
Other Nobel winners in medicine, physics, chemistry and literature have already been announced this week. The Nobel season ends Monday with the announcement of the winner of the economics prize.
