The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese anti-nuclear weapon organization made of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
“This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the peace prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
The group has raised awareness about nuclear weapons around the world by drawing on personal stories, creating educational campaigns based on their own experience, and issuing urgent warnings against the spread and use of nuclear weapons, a press release from the committee said.
"At this moment in human history, it is worth reminding ourselves what nuclear weapons are: the most destructive weapons the world has ever seen," the press release said.
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— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 11, 2024
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2024 #NobelPeacePrize to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the peace prize for its… pic.twitter.com/YVXwnwVBQO
The United States dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II in 1945, killing an estimated 120,000 people in what was the only time such weapons have been used in a conflict. After the ensuing decades-long nuclear anxiety of the Cold War, these world-ending armaments are once again causing global unease amid wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, NBC News reported.
"Nihon Hidankyo has provided thousands of witness accounts, issued resolutions and public appeals, and sent annual delegations to the United Nations and a variety of peace conferences to remind the world of the pressing need for nuclear disarmament," the committee said.
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This isn't the first time the Nobel committee has honored efforts to eradicate nuclear weapons. In 1995 Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs won the peace prize for their efforts to diminish the role of nuclear arms in international politics and in 2017 the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons also won the award.
The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1 million). Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma at the award ceremonies in December, according to the committee's website.
Last year, imprisoned activist Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize for fighting the oppression of women in Iran.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
