Nihon Hidankyo, Japanese association of atomic bomb survivors, wins 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
Photo via Reuters
ISABELLA PAGANINI: “Humanity must never again inflict nor suffer the sacrifice and torture we have experienced.” These impassioned words were spoken in 1956 by Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese organization awarded with 2024’s Nobel Peace Prize.
The organization Nihon Hidankyo originated from the widespread movement against atomic and hydrogen bombs in 1954, whose members persistently raised awareness of the humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. Associations of Hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and victims of nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific united under a Japanese Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations. Shortened to Nihon Hidankyo in Japanese, the group oversees member organizations in all 47 Japanese prefectures. All officials and members are Hibakusha.
In 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, causing unprecedented destruction and horrific effects on human life. By the end of the year, the bombing had killed an estimated 140,000 people in Hiroshima, and 74,000 in Nagasaki. However, the impact was significantly long-term, as it influenced higher incidence rates of leukemia, as well as thyroid, breast, lung, and other cancers. In their Message to the World in 1956, the organization describes the historical event as a “carnage of termination clearly designed,” a series of massacres with no justification. As of March 2024, there were 106,825 atomic bomb survivors registered in Japan, data from the country's health ministry showed, with an average age of 85.6 years.
Drawing on personal stories and experiences to create educational campaigns, Nihon Hidankyo warns against the spread and employment of nuclear weapons. They emphasize the importance of the “nuclear taboo,” a powerful international norm that stigmatizes the use of nuclear weapons as morally unacceptable. The organization has provided thousands of witness accounts and highlighted the fates of those who survived the bombings, which were concealed and neglected, issued resolutions and public appeals, and sent annual delegations of A-bomb sufferers to UN and various peace conferences. Simultaneously, they conduct speaking tours around the world, especially in nuclear-weapon states. Their hope is that if billions of people in the world understood the realities of atomic bombings, “public opinion would be a great moral power,” enough to abolish nuclear weapons.
The objectives of Nihon Hidankyo consist of:
The prevention of a nuclear war and elimination of nuclear weapons, including the signing of an international agreement for a total ban and elimination of nuclear weapons.
The distribution of state compensation for the atomic bomb damages, underscoring the need for an acknowledgement of the Japanese state’s responsibility of having launched the war.
The improvement of the current policies and measures on the protection and assistance for the Hibakusha.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo for “its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.” The Hibakusha have testified to the indescribable and comprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons. Their tremendous contributions to the nuclear taboo have succeeded to the extent that no nuclear weapon has been used in war in nearly 80 years. In recognizing Nihon Hidankyo this year, the Committee “wishes to honour all survivors” who have chosen to use their traumatic experiences to cultivate hope and peace.
The timing of the prize announcement and choice of the recipient is especially of note. The Committee’s Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes has described the situation in the world as “alarming,” emphasizing the pressure that the nuclear taboo is under: nuclear powers are modernizing and upgrading their arsenals, new countries are acquiring nuclear weapons, and today’s nuclear weapons have far greater destructure power than demonstrated in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned the West of potential nuclear consequences, following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has indicated the country will speed up its nuclear armament. Additionally, Iran has significantly expanded its nuclear program in the past decade, inspiring concerns over nuclear weaponization.
Frydnes stresses that nuclear weapons and humanity cannot coexist, stating that a world without nuclear weapons is certainly a safer one. While the road to that world is dangerous and difficult, it should nonetheless be our goal.
Isabella Paganini is a staff writer for On the Record. She is a sophomore studying International Politics in the School of Foreign Service with a minor in Economics and a certificate in Diplomacy Studies.