The Japanese Organization “Nihon Hidankyo” Wins the Nobel Peace Prize

The Japanese anti-nuclear organization “Nihon Hidankyo” won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced the laureate, stating that the committee chose to honor the organization “for its efforts toward a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating, through testimonies, that nuclear weapons should never be used again.”

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Nihon Hidankyo is the only Japanese organization that includes survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It consists of smaller member organizations across Japan, numbering 47 in total.

The organization, also known as “Hibakusha,” was founded by survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and it works toward “achieving a world without nuclear weapons.”

Hidankyo organizes dozens of campaigns each year to urge the Japanese government and parliament to inform the international community about the full extent of the damage caused by the atomic bombing.

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The organization also demands that the Japanese government acknowledge the state’s responsibility for waging war, which ultimately led to the atomic bombing, and provide compensation to the victims’ families as well as to those who suffered health damage (through the enactment of the Hibakusha Assistance Act).

Although the Japanese government and other state institutions have refused to acknowledge their responsibility for the war, they have been forced to yield to some of the Hibakusha’s demands, such as enacting the “Medical Care Act for Atomic Bomb Victims” in 1956 and the “Special Measures Act (for Victims)” in 1967.

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In December 1994, the “Hibakusha Assistance Act” was passed, although this law does not provide state compensation nor acknowledge the state’s responsibility for the war. Hidankyo continues its legislative campaign, demanding a state compensation system.

Among the major projects that Hidankyo has participated in was the preparation of the International NGO Symposium in 1977, as well as other initiatives during and after the 1980s.

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