Japanese atomic bomb survivors accept Nobel Peace Prize. confrontation
Japanese atomic bomb victims’ group Nihon Hidankyo has accepted the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.”
Now in their 80s and 90s, members of the group who survived the American bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki accepted the award at a ceremony at the City Hall of Oslo in Norway.
In an interview with Al Jazeera inside the awards venue, Toshiyuki Mimaki, 82, co-chairman of Nihon Hidankyo, said he was surprised to learn the group had won this year’s award.
He said, “I was at Hiroshima City Hall when I saw the announcement and I had hoped that this year’s prize would be given to people working for peace in Gaza.”
“I was so surprised.”
He said the group’s mission is “to ensure that nuclear weapons will never be used again”, and this includes ending the war in Gaza.
Terumi Tanaka, who gave the acceptance lecture on behalf of Nihon Hidankyo, also expressed concern about the ongoing wars in Palestine and Ukraine.
Nuclear superpower Russia has threatened to use nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine, Tanaka said, and an Israeli cabinet member also spoke of the possible use of nuclear weapons in Palestine amid its unrelenting attacks on Gaza. Is.”
“I am extremely saddened and angry that the nuclear taboo is in danger of being broken,” he said.
In his speech, Tanaka recalled the “bright, white light” when an American bomber jet dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, three days after the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.
“Many people who were badly injured or burnt, but were still alive, were left abandoned without any help. I became almost devoid of emotions, somehow turned off my sense of humanity and just moved towards my destination,” he said.
Since then, Tanaka has joined with other survivors who have worked for decades to contribute to efforts to prevent the re-use of nuclear weapons, including the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
