2024 Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Japan Atomic Bomb Survivors: A Powerful Call for a Nuclear-Free World

2024 Nobel Peace Prize

Warning to nuclear-armed countries around the world: The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the Japanese Atomic Bomb Survivors Organization

On October 11, 2024, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Japan Atomic Bomb Victims Association, an organization founded by survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in recognition of its long-standing advocacy against nuclear weapons. The Norwegian Nobel Committee highlighted the urgent need for nuclear disarmament amid rising global tensions, particularly in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and other geopolitical issues.

The committee’s chairman, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, warned nuclear-armed nations about the catastrophic consequences of potential nuclear warfare, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a “nuclear taboo.” This recognition not only honors the suffering of atomic bomb survivors but also serves as a reminder of the necessity for a nuclear-free world, building on previous efforts like the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Key Concepts

• The Japan Atomic Bomb Victims Association has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its advocacy against nuclear weapons.
• The organization was founded in 1956 by survivors of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• The Nobel Committee emphasized the urgent need for a nuclear-free world amid ongoing global conflicts.
• The award serves as a warning to nuclear-armed nations about the necessity of preventing nuclear warfare.
• Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba acknowledged the significance of the Nobel Prize for the organization.
• The atomic bombings in 1945 resulted in significant loss of life and marked Japan’s surrender in World War II.
• Co-chairman Tomoyuki Mimaki expressed emotional gratitude for the recognition during a press conference.
• The Nobel Committee highlighted the association’s efforts to articulate the suffering caused by nuclear weapons.
• Jorgen Watne Frydnes warned of the catastrophic consequences of modern nuclear arms and potential climate impacts.
• The decision to award the Peace Prize underscores the ongoing dangers posed by nuclear weapons globally.
• Dan Smith noted that global tensions are at their highest since World War II, increasing the risk of nuclear conflict.
• The award continues the Nobel Committee’s commitment to nuclear disarmament and humanitarian issues related to nuclear warfare.

The Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee announced on Friday (October 11) that the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to the Japan Confederation of A-and H Bomb Sufferers Organizations, a grassroots organization in Japan that has long advocated against the use of nuclear weapons, highlighting the importance of promoting a nuclear-free world as the wars between Russia and Ukraine and the Middle East continue.

The Japan Confederation of A-and-H Bomb Sufferers Organizations was established in 1956 and is a nationwide grassroots mass organization in Japan established by survivors of the atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki before the end of World War II. Over the past 60 years, the organization has long advocated that the use of nuclear weapons is “inhumane” and called for the struggle to achieve a “nuclear-free world.”

Reuters pointed out in its report that the Japanese grassroots anti-nuclear organization’s winning of the Nobel Peace Prize is a warning to nuclear-armed countries around the world that nuclear weapons must never be used.

“The Japanese Council of Atomic Bomb Victims is awarded the Peace Prize for its efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons and for its eyewitness testimony showing that nuclear weapons must never be used again,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on the 11th that the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize would be awarded to the “Japan Atomic Bomb Victims Association,” an organization of survivors of the atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Fridnes reminded nuclear-armed countries not to consider using nuclear weapons, saying that nuclear war could destroy human civilization. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the organization’s award is of great significance.

Japan is the only country in the world to have been attacked by atomic bombs during the war. On August 6 and August 9, 1945, the U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, in order to force Japan to surrender unconditionally and avoid the huge casualties that might be caused by a forced landing in Japan, killing about 90,000 to 166,000 people in Hiroshima and about 60,000 to 80,000 people in Nagasaki. However, this move prompted Japan to immediately declare unconditional surrender and the end of World War II.

11 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the “Japan Atomic Bomb Victims Association,” founded by witnesses and survivors of the atomic bombings, began its decades-long anti-nuclear movement.

“The Japan Atomic Bomb Victims Association has helped us describe the indescribable, imagine the unimaginable, and try to make us feel the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons,” the Nobel Committee’s statement added.

“I can’t believe this is true,” said Tomoyuki Minomaki, co-chairman of the Japan Atomic Bomb Victims Association, at a press conference in Hiroshima, expressing his surprise at the award news and with tears when he spoke to reporters.

Tomoyuki Mimaki is a survivor of the atomic bombing of Japan. He believes that the award to the Japan Atomic Bomb Victims Association shows that it is possible to promote the abolition of nuclear weapons worldwide.

“(The award) will strongly show the world that the prohibition of nuclear weapons and permanent peace is achievable,” said Tomoyuki Mimaki. “Nuclear weapons should absolutely be abolished.”

At a press conference, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chairman of the Nobel Committee, warned nuclear-armed countries without naming them not to consider using nuclear weapons.

“Today, nuclear weapons are even more destructive, can kill millions of people, and will have a catastrophic impact on the climate,” said Frydnes. “A nuclear war would destroy our civilization.”

Frydnes praised the “tremendous efforts” made by the Japan Atomic Bomb Victims Association over the years and its contribution to promoting the “nuclear taboo.”

“So it is shocking that the taboo on the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure today,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced that Russia will review its strategy for using nuclear weapons and relax restrictions on the use of nuclear weapons, which caused an uproar in Europe and around the world.

Reuters quoted Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), as saying that the Nobel Committee’s decision to award the prize drew attention to the fact that the world is in a “very dangerous situation,” that is, the relationship between the United States and China and the United States and Russia has fallen into the “worst” stage since World War II.

“If a military conflict occurs, there is a risk of escalation into a nuclear war. They are a really important voice reminding us of the destructive power of nuclear weapons,” Smith told Reuters.

Smith believes that the Nobel Committee’s decision to award the prize to the Japan Atomic Bomb Victims’ Group Agreement is a move that kills three birds with one stone, drawing the world’s attention to the suffering of the survivors of the atomic bomb, the dangers of nuclear weapons, and the fact that the world has remained intact for nearly 80 years without the use of nuclear weapons.

The Nobel Committee also awarded the Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in 2017.