Japanese Organisation Nihon Hidankyo Wins 2024 Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. This movement, also known as Hibakusha, was formed by atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Norwegian Nobel Institute had registered a total of 286 candidates for this year’s peace prize, of which 197 are individuals and 89 are organisations.

According to the Nobel Committee, this grassroots movement 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 committee also mentioned in its statement that the members of Nihon Hidankyo have "worked tirelessly" to raise awareness about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of using nuclear weapons.

In awarding this year’s #NobelPeacePrize to Nihon Hidankyo, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes 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… pic.twitter.com/TZUBxODcTj

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 11, 2024

The Nobel Committee also said that the members of the global movement have helped to generate and consolidate widespread opposition to nuclear weapons by drawing on personal stories and creating educational campaigns based on their own experience. "The Hibakusha help us to describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable, and to somehow grasp the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons," the statement added.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee also praised the efforts of Nihon Hidankyo and other representatives to contribute to "the establishment of the nuclear taboo." The Nobel Peace Prize, worth about $1 million, is scheduled to be awarded in Oslo on December 10.