Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese atomic bomb survivors’ group, has won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons”.
The group received the honour “for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again”, said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, awarding the prize on Friday at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo.
Frydnes harked to the upcoming 80th anniversary of the dropping of two nuclear bombs by the United States on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, which killed an estimated 120,000 people.
The committee said it wanted to “honour all atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki who, despite physical suffering and painful memories, have chosen to use their costly experience to cultivate hope and engagement for peace”.
Tomoyuki Mimaki, co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, was standing by at Hiroshima City Hall when he received the news.
“Is it really true? Unbelievable!” said the survivor of the Hiroshima bombing.
Mimaki said the group’s win would give a major boost to its efforts to demonstrate that the abolition of nuclear weapons was possible.
“It would be a great force to appeal to the world that the abolition of nuclear weapons can be achieved,” he said.
Reporting from Oslo, Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull said the five-person committee had made “a safe choice” that nevertheless reflected the current state of the world at war, “especially considering nuclear issues are not just rising in Russia or Ukraine, but also in Iran”.
“One of the points of speculation was that they might not want to award this prize at all this year as has been done 19 times since it was inaugurated in the late 19th century, including during both world wars as a statement about the world at war,” he said.
Lauding the work of Nihon Hidankyo, the committee said: “They help us to describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable, and to somehow grasp the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons.”
The survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki are also known as Hibakusha.
Kazumi Matsui, the mayor of Hiroshima, said: “Hibakusha are fast ageing, and there are fewer and fewer people able to testify to the meaninglessness of possessing atomic bombs and their absolute evil.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the “relentless work and resilience of the Hibakusha are the backbone of the global nuclear disarmament movement”.
The prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo at a time when nuclear powers are modernising and upgrading their arsenals, with new countries preparing to acquire nuclear weapons and threats being made to use nuclear weapons in ongoing warfare.
Frydnes praised “the extraordinary efforts” of Nihon Hidankyo to contribute to “the establishment of the nuclear taboo” but warned that “threats of use” were “damaging this norm”. He did not name specific countries.
Mimaki told reporters the idea that nuclear weapons can bring peace is a “fallacy”.
“It has been said that because of nuclear weapons, the world maintains peace. But nuclear weapons can be used by terrorists,” he said.
“For example, if Russia uses them against Ukraine, Israel against Gaza, it won’t end there. Politicians should know these things.”
Frydnes warned that nuclear war could “destroy our civilisation”.
“Today’s nuclear weapons have far greater destructive power. They can kill millions and would impact the climate catastrophically,” he said.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Human Rights Office, said: “To us, it’s recognition of the importance of grassroots organisations, and in particular survivors of horrific violations for their tireless and persistent work, often away from the spotlight without much recognition, with a lot of obstacles, with not always a tremendous amount of resources at their disposal.”
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba welcomed the win. “It’s extremely meaningful that the organisation that has worked toward abolishing nuclear weapons received the Nobel Peace Prize,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the awarding of the prize to Nihon Hidankyo sends a “powerful message”.
“The spectre of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still looms over humanity. This makes the advocacy of Nihon Hidankyo invaluable. 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,” von der Leyen said on X.
Narges Mohammadi, a jailed Iranian women’s rights advocate, won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous struggle against the oppression of women in Iran and relentless fight for social reform.
The peace prize is the only Nobel awarded in the Norwegian capital – the others are announced in Stockholm.
In all, 286 candidates – 197 individuals and 89 organisations – are known to have been nominated this year. The Norwegian Nobel Committee keeps the candidates’ names secret for 50 years, but those eligible to nominate can reveal who they have proposed.
The prize carries a cash award of 11 million Swedish krona ($1.1m) from a bequest left by the award’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Alongside the cash prize, the winners will be presented with a medal on December 10.