Japanese Organization Nihon Hidankyo Wins 2024 Nobel Peace Prize

October 11, 2024

Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

This morning, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to Japanese atomic-bomb survivor’s group Nihon Hidankyo. Originally formed in 1956 as a grassroots movement of survivors of the atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the organization has been working for nearly 60 years to achieve a world free from nuclear warfare.

Nihon Hidankyo records witness testimony and personal stories describing the after-effects of atomic bombings in both cities, with the aim of raising awareness of the devastating effects of—and stigmatizing any future use of—nuclear weapons. As a result of this work, the world has long operated under the “nuclear taboo,” which has seen the use of nuclear weaponry become an unacceptable option for world leaders.

However, as war rages in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, Haiti, and more, the “long peace” that followed World War II, which has resulted in few violent conflicts among the world’s major powers, is showing its cracks, and rhetoric evoking the potential use of nuclear weapons has not gone unnoticed by the Nobel Committee. To date, the United States is the only country to have ever used a nuclear bomb in wartime, but eight additional countries have conducted tests on their atomic weaponry. “The nuclear powers are modernising and upgrading their arsenals,” said the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in its statement. “New countries appear to be preparing to acquire nuclear weapons, and threats are being made to use nuclear weapons in ongoing warfare. At this moment in human history, it is worth reminding ourselves what nuclear weapons are: the most destructive weapons the world has ever seen.”

Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who are known collectively in Japan as Hibakusa, began gathering in the years that followed the August 1945 bombings. As Hibakusa shared their personal stories, Nihon Hidankyo created powerful campaigns, warning against the use of nuclear weapons, which have the capability to destroy civilization. The result has been a change in the global mindset, the establishment of the nuclear taboo, and a collective norm that the use of nuclear weaponry is unacceptable. According to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, “the Hibakusha help us to describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable, and to somehow grasp the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons. The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour all survivors who, despite physical suffering and painful memories, have chosen to use their costly experience to cultivate hope and engagement for peace.”

"I can't believe it's real," said Nihon Hidankyo co-chair and survivor Toshiyuki Mimaki, speaking at a press conference held in Hiroshima. “(This award) will be a great force to appeal to the world that the abolition of nuclear weapons and everlasting peace can be achieved. Nuclear weapons should absolutely be abolished."

Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings, which killed nearly a quarter million residents of Japan, both during the immediate aftermath and in the months and years that followed, as radiation poisoning, leukemia, and other cancers took their toll. As the time approaches when Hibakusa will no longer be able to share their firsthand stories, young people are continuing to tell the stories of their grandparents and great-grandparents, and to work to maintain the nuclear taboo.

This year’s prize joins a distinguished list of Peace Prizes that the Committee has previously awarded, in fulfillment of Alfred Nobel’s will, which recognizes efforts of “the greatest benefit to humankind.” JA Worldwide salutes the groundbreaking work of Nihon Hidankyo, as well as the other 285 candidates for this year’s prize. Eighty-nine of those nominees were organizations, including JA Worldwide.