Nobel Peace Prize for Japanese Atomic Bomb Survivors
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of survivors of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for its activism against nuclear weapons.
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the committee wanted "to honor all survivors who, despite physical suffering and painful memories," have chosen to use their experience "to cultivate hope and engagement for peace."
Hidankyo's Hiroshima branch chairperson, Tomoyuki Mimaki, who was standing by at the city hall for the announcement, cheered and cried when he received the news.
"Is it really true? Unbelievable!" Mimaki screamed.
It's the first time in 50 years that there has been a Japanese winner of the Peace Prize. In 1974, former prime minister Eisaku Sato won for his policies on nuclear weapons.
Next year is the 80th anniversary of the bombings on the two cities. The bombs are thought to have killed 210,000 people.
There are still more than 100,000 survivors, according to Japanese government data. But the average age of the survivors is about 85 and Watne Frydnes said that Hidankyo has helped to share the "experience and the message of the witnesses" with new generations in Japan.
This year's prize was awarded against a backdrop of devastating conflicts around the world, notably in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.
"It is very clear that threats of using nuclear weapons are putting pressure on the important international norm, the taboo of using nuclear weapons," Watne Frydnes said.
European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that this Nobel Peace Prize "sends a powerful message. We have the duty to remember. And an even greater duty to protect the next generations from the horrors of nuclear war."
In a year of conflict, some had suggested before the announcement that the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides on the winner, would choose not to award a prize at all this year. The prize has been withheld a total of 19 times since 1901, including during both world wars.
