OSLO, Dec 10 (Alliance News): The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese atomic bomb survivors’ group, for its relentless advocacy against nuclear weapons, a significant concern 80 years after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
The prestigious award will be received by Nihon Hidankyo’s three co-chairs at a ceremony on Tuesday at Oslo’s City Hall, set for 1pm (1200 GMT).
The recognition comes as nuclear threats increase, with states like Russia potentially jeopardizing the long-standing international taboo on nuclear weapon use.
Terumi Tanaka, one of the co-chairs and a survivor of the Nagasaki bombing at age 13, expressed the grave consequences of nuclear weapons.
“Nuclear weapons and humanity cannot co-exist,” Tanaka stated at a press conference on Monday in Oslo. “Humanity may come to its end even before climate change brings its devastating impacts,” he added.
Nihon Hidankyo’s work focuses on sharing the testimonies of survivors known as “hibakusha,” advocating for a nuclear-free world.
The bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which occurred in August 1945, killed approximately 214,000 people, with many more suffering from radiation sickness and cancer in the years that followed.
The bombings led to Japan’s surrender on August 15, 1945, marking the end of World War II.
Tanaka, who lost five family members in the Nagasaki bombing, expressed concern over the current nuclear rhetoric, specifically addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“President Putin, I don’t think he truly understands what nuclear weapons are for human beings. I don’t think he has even thought about this,” Tanaka said.
