Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese group representing survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is this year’s recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. “We did not expect such a big award. The dream has come true,” said Masako Wada, the organization’s representative, in an interview after today’s (October 11) announcement.
The grassroots organization was recognized for its efforts to use witness testimony to demonstrate the need for a nuclear-free world. Atomic bomb survivors, known as ‘hibakusha,’ “helped generate and mobilize widespread opposition to nuclear weapons around the world by taking their stories, conducting educational campaigns based on their experiences, and issuing urgent warnings against the spread and use of nuclear weapons,” said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, head of the Nobel Committee, when announcing the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. Unlike other prizes established by the will of Swedish founder Alfred Nobel in 1895, the peace prize is awarded annually by the Norwegian committee instead of Sweden.
Why was Nihon Hidankyo chosen?
Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the detonation of the atomic bombs, the only example of the use of nuclear weapons in war. The bombs killed an estimated 120,000 people in Japan, with an equal number of civilians dying of burns and radiation injuries later.
The group’s recognition comes at a time when “nuclear non-proliferation is under pressure,” Frydnes said. Without naming specific countries, he noted that the nuclear powers “are modernizing and developing their weapons and new countries appear to be preparing to acquire nuclear weapons; and threats are made to use nuclear weapons in an ongoing war.” The 2024 Nobel should remind the world about the destruction of nuclear weapons, he added.
Earlier this year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a non-profit organization created to stimulate public debate about nuclear disarmament following the 1945 atomic bombings, announced that the Doomsday Clock—a sign of the world’s approach to global catastrophe—will last seconds -90 until then. midnight, the closest it’s ever been. The decision was heavily influenced by the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world, the agency said at the time.
“Please do away with nuclear weapons while we’re still alive,” said Tomoyuki Mimaki, president of Nihon Hidankyo, at a press conference following the Nobel Peace Prize announcement. “That’s the desire of 114,000 hibakusha.”
This year’s decision fulfills “Nobel’s desire to recognize efforts that benefit humanity the most,” Frydnes said, adding that Nihon Hidankyo joins the list of Nobel Peace Prizes awarded to “champions of nuclear disarmament and arms control.” Alva Myrdal, a Swedish politician, and Alfonso Garcia Robles, a Mexican ambassador, received the award in 1982 for their advocacy of disarmament. And in 1995, the British doctor Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs were chosen as winners for their efforts to end the influence of nuclear weapons in international politics.
This is not the first time the Nobel Prize has been awarded to an organization instead of an individual. About 30 groups, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Committee of the Red Cross, have received the prestigious award in history.
The final Nobel Prize for 2024, the prize for economics, will be announced on Oct. 14.
Here’s a look at this year’s winners so far:
