2024 Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Japanese Atomic Bomb Survivors

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization comprised of atomic bomb survivors, recognized for their "extraordinary efforts" in promoting a world free of nuclear weapons. The announcement was made at a ceremony in Oslo on Friday, highlighting the group's significant contribution to establishing a nuclear taboo over the years.

According to Joergen Watne Frydnes, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the prize acknowledges the organization's 1956 formation and its commitment to advocating for nuclear disarmament. The grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as Hibakusha, has long campaigned against nuclear arms, demonstrating through their personal testimonies that such weapons should never be used again.

The Nobel Committee noted that the experiences of those who survived the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have often been overlooked. In 1956, local Hibakusha associations and victims of nuclear tests in the Pacific united to create the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, which later became known as Nihon Hidankyo. This organization has grown to be the largest and most influential of its kind in Japan.

Next year marks 80 years since the atomic bombings that killed an estimated 120,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with countless others suffering from radiation injuries in the aftermath. By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, the Norwegian Nobel Committee aims to honor all atomic bomb survivors who have, despite their enduring pain, chosen to advocate for peace and hope.

The Committee emphasized the vital role of these survivors in articulating the unimaginable suffering caused by nuclear weapons. They...