Almost 80 years ago, the world witnessed one of humanity’s most defining and horrific moments: The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And now, nearly 80 years later, a grassroots organisation working to prevent the future use of nuclear weapons has been awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
Nihon Hidankyo, an organisation lobbying for the abolition of nuclear weapons, was awarded the prestigious prize 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. The Peace Prize has historically been awarded to individuals or groups who have made strides in promoting peace. Past laureates include:
🔹 Former South African presidents Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk for their efforts in ending Apartheid,
🔹 Archbishop Desmond Tutu for his non-violent campaign against Apartheid,
🔹 Pakistani female education activist Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel laureate in history, for her role in advocating for the education of girls in Pakistan, for which she was nearly assassinated,
🔹 Jailed Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi.
Nihon Hidankyo was founded by the survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War Two. The bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and to date, remain the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict.
The survivors, known as Hibakusha (which means ‘Survivor of the bomb’), have been instrumental in making sure that the use of nuclear weapons remains restricted. “The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes nevertheless to acknowledge one encouraging fact: No nuclear weapon has been used in war in nearly 80 years. The extraordinary efforts of Nihon Hidankyo and other representatives of the Hibakusha have contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo,” the committee said in a statement.
Nihon Hidankyo co-chair, Toshiyuki Mimaki, said he was surprised that the organisation had won this year’s Peace Prize. Mimaki was 3 when the bombs were dropped in Japan. In showing solidarity with the people of Palestine, Mimaki said that the situation in Gaza, Palestine, was similar to Japan’s at the end of the war. “In Gaza, children in blood are being held. It’s like in Japan 80 years ago,” he said. But that drew criticism from Israel’s ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, who said the comparison was “baseless and outrageous.” Cohen said that Hamas is a “murderous terrorist organisation committing a double war crime: targeting Israeli civilians, including women and children, while using its own people as human shields.”
The work that Nihon Hidankyo does is becoming increasingly crucial as nuclear threats grow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and North Korea is looking to become a military superpower by developing and potentially using nuclear weapons. “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 committee.
