The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo (Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), a group representing the hibakusha – the atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This prestigious award, announced on Tuesday, recognizes their decades-long struggle to abolish nuclear weapons, a cause that has gained renewed urgency in the face of escalating global tensions.
The ceremony, held in Oslo’s City Hall, saw the three co-chairs of Nihon Hidankyo accept the prize. The timing is particularly poignant, given the alarming rise of nuclear threats from nations like Russia, which has increasingly disregarded the international taboo against the use of these weapons of mass destruction. Terumi Tanaka, one of the co-chairs and a Nagasaki survivor, powerfully stated at a press conference, “Nuclear weapons and humanity cannot co-exist. Humanity may come to its end even before climate change brings its devastating impacts.” Mr. Tanaka’s statement underscores the existential threat posed by nuclear proliferation.
Nihon Hidankyo’s tireless work centers on the harrowing testimonies of the hibakusha, those who endured the horrific aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The bombings, the only instances of nuclear weapons’ use in warfare, resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki, with countless others suffering from radiation sickness and long-term health consequences. These tragedies, which brought an end to World War II, serve as a stark reminder of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons.
Tanaka, who was just 13 years old when the bomb detonated over Nagasaki, lost five family members in the blast. His personal experience fuels his impassioned plea for an end to nuclear threats, particularly targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin. He expressed deep concern over Putin’s repeated nuclear threats, stating, “President Putin, I don’t think he truly understands what nuclear weapons are for human beings. I don’t think he has even thought about this.” Tanaka’s words highlight the profound disconnect between the rhetoric of nuclear power and the devastating human cost.
Putin’s escalatory nuclear threats, initiated shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and solidified by a decree lowering the threshold for atomic weapon use, underscore the growing global concern. Russia possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, a fact further emphasized by the November 21st launch of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile (capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, though it wasn’t in this instance) towards the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s statement that Moscow is prepared to use “any means” to defend itself only exacerbates these fears.
Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, stressed the critical importance of upholding the nuclear taboo, stating, “It is crucial for humanity to uphold the nuclear taboo, to stigmatise these weapons as morally unacceptable. To threaten with them is one way of reducing the significance of the taboo, and it should not be done. And of course, to use them should never be done ever again by any nation on Earth.” His statement reflects the international consensus on the necessity of preventing the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons.
The threat extends beyond Russia. North Korea’s increased ballistic missile tests and Iran’s suspected (though denied) nuclear weapons development program contribute to the ongoing global security challenges. Nine countries – Britain, China, France, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United States, and Israel – currently possess nuclear weapons, a stark reminder of the continuing failure to achieve complete disarmament despite the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which remains largely symbolic due to the lack of signatory nuclear powers. The Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggle for a nuclear-free world and the critical importance of the hibakusha’s voices in this fight.
