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Japanese atomic bomb survivors accept Nobel Peace Prize

Name: Japanese atomic bomb survivors accept Nobel Peace Prize
Uploaded: 2024-12-11T04:45:58Z
Description: Nihon Hidankyo, a group of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors, honoured for fighting to abolish nuclear weapons.

Nihon Hidankyo, a group of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors, honoured for fighting to abolish nuclear weapons.

men sit In seats — Chairman of the Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes applauds, from left, Terumi Tanaka, Shigemitsu Tanaka and Toshiyuki Mimaki, at the City Hall in Oslo. [Kin Cheung/AP Photo]

Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese atomic bomb survivors’ group, has accepted the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons”.

Now in their 80s and 90s, members of the group who survived American bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki accepted the award at a ceremony in Oslo’s City Hall in Norway.

In an interview with Al Jazeera inside the award venue, Toshiyuki Mimaki, 82, the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, said he was surprised to learn the group had won this year’s award.

“I was in the Hiroshima City Hall at the time watching the announcement, and I was expecting that the prize this year would go to people working for peace in Gaza,” he said.

“I was just so shocked.”

He said the group’s mission is “ensuring that nuclear weapons will never be used again”, and that it includes ending the war in Gaza.

Terumi Tanaka, who delivered the acceptance lecture on behalf of Nihon Hidankyo, also raised concerns about ongoing wars in Palestine and Ukraine.

“The nuclear superpower Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine, and a cabinet member of Israel, in the midst of its unrelenting attacks on Gaza in Palestine, even spoke of the possible use of nuclear arms,” Tanaka said.

“I am infinitely saddened and angered that the nuclear taboo threatens to be broken,” he said.

In his speech, Tanaka recalled the “bright, white light” as an American bomber jet dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, three days after the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

“Many people who were badly injured or burned, but still alive, were left unattended, with no help whatsoever. I became almost devoid of emotion, somehow closing off my sense of humanity, and simply headed intently for my destination,” he said.

Since then, Tanaka has joined with other survivors who have worked for decades to contribute to efforts to prevent nuclear weapons from ever being used again, including through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Norway Nobel Peace Prize — Chairman of the Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes hands the certificate to, Terumi Tanaka, Shigemitsu Tanaka and Toshiyuki Mimaki. [Kin Cheung/AP Photo]

a man stands at a podium — Terumi Tanaka, 92, who survived the bombing of Nagasaki, accepted the award on behalf of the group. [Kin Cheung/AP Photo]

people wearing Japanese traditional dress sit in an audience — Survivors and families of survivors of atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. [Kin Cheung/AP Photo]

a woman in a green suit shakes hand with a man in a suit — Tanaka shakes hands with Norway's Queen Sonja during the ceremony. [Kin Cheung/AP Photo]

people sit in an ornate room — People listen during Tanaka's speech. [Kin Cheung/AP Photo]