Japanese atomic bomb survivors to be awarded Nobel Peace Prize

A group of Japanese survivors of the World War II atomic bombings on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945 is set to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Tuesday.

The delegation touched down in Oslo, Norway, on Monday, where the group will receive the honor.

The group is composed of 30 members of Nihon Hidankyo, Japan’s national organization of atomic and hydrogen bomb survivors, which was formed in 1956.

Its primary goal is to call for the end of nuclear arms across the globe.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee first announced in late October the group of survivors would receive this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded annually to the person who had done most for “fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

Nihon Hidankyo’s three co-chairs, Terumi Tanaka, Shigemitsu Tanaka and Toshiyuki Mimaki, all travelled to Oslo for the presentation.

“We believe this award is also for all hibakusha who preceded us. We will work so that hibakusha are not created again,” Shigemitsu Tanaka, 84, said during a Monday news conference.

Hibakusha is the Japanese term for atomic bomb survivors.

“We are old, but the nuclear situation remains very severe. I want to make a stronger appeal about what the hibakusha have called for and convey my wish that young people will continue our efforts,” his 92-year-old co-chair Terumi Tanaka told reporters.

Terumi Tanaka will deliver a speech Tuesday during the official ceremony.

In addition to the negative impact on their health, Japanese atomic bomb survivors were often shunned by their own society, leading them to band together in a call for nuclear disarmament.

“CND would like to express its warmest congratulations to our friends at Nihon Hindankyo ahead of the Nobel prize ceremony. They are truly incredible people who have turned one of the 20th century’s greatest war crimes into a powerful global movement for nuclear disarmament,” Sophie Bolt, general secretary of the British group Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said in a statement.

“At a time of such heightened threats of nuclear war, sharing their shocking testimony of the human cost of nuclear war has never been more urgent. 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings. It will be a year for redoubling our efforts to promote nuclear disarmament in Britain and across the world.”