The Japanese antinuclear organization Nihon Hidankyo alerted this Tuesday upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo of the increase in threat to end the “nuclear taboo” and urged to work for elimination of atomic weapons in the world. “I am infinitely saddened and furious that there is a threat to break the nuclear taboo,” said Nihon Hidankyo co-president and secretary-general, Terumi Tanakawho pointed out Russia for hinting at its possible use in Ukraine and Israel in Gaza. Tanaka recalled that there are 4,000 operational nuclear warheads deployed in the world and that their potential damage would be “thousands of times” greater than that of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hence he “demanded” action from all governments and attacked the idea of nuclear deterrence, in addition to urging more countries to join the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Tanaka, 92, was 13 when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (his city), which killed some 210,000 people, while another 400,000 were damaged due to radioactivity, as he recalled at the ceremony at City Hall. Oslo, presided over by Kings Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway. With hardly any memory of the explosion, it was not until three days later, when he went with his mother to find out the fate of his relatives in the center of Nagasaki when he saw the “total devastation”, which caused the death of several of his relatives.
“All the houses along the road, to the base of the mountain, were completely burned and bodies lay scattered around them. Many people, badly injured or burned, but still alive, were left unattended, without help. Almost I was left without emotion, blocking my sense of humanity,” Tanaka said. The “hibakusha” (survivors) were “forced into silence by the occupying forces for 7 years” and “abandoned” by the Japanese Government, “isolated”, suffering from illness, “suffering”, “prejudice” and “discrimination”, he recalled.
Testimony of the victims
Tanaka recalled that it was the atomic tests carried out by the US on the Bikini Atoll in 1954 that started an anti-nuclear movement and promoted the birth in 1956 of Nihon Hidankyo, who since then has dedicated himself to disseminating the testimonies of the victims, reclaiming compensations and fight against nuclear weapons. “The average age of atomic bomb survivors is 85 years. In ten years only a few will be able to testify as direct witnesses. I hope that new generations will find ways to continue our efforts and develop the movement,” said Tanaka. .
In his previous speech, the president of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, warned that the world has entered a “more unstable” nuclear age and that the alert “is more urgent than ever”, while regretting that no of the nine nuclear powers appears to be “interested” in nuclear disarmament and arms control.
“You did not resign yourself to victimhood, you defined yourselves as survivors. You refused to sit in silence while the powers led us into long periods of nuclear weaponry. You stood and shared your unique personal testimony with the world. A light in the darkest night , a path forward, you give us hope,” he told the “hibakusha”. Frydnes also urged the authorities of Belarus and Iran to “immediately” release the imprisoned activists Ales Bialiatski and Narges Mohammadi, winners of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
