HIROSHIMA/NAGASAKI: The day after it was announced that Nihon Hidankyo, or Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, had won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Saturday renewed their pledge to continue their activities toward realizing a world free from nuclear weapons.

In Hiroshima, Kunihiko Sakuma, head of a Hidankyo group for Hiroshima Prefecture, visited the Peace Memorial Park with nine others to report the news to the victims of the 1945 US atomic bombing.

Sakuma was 9 months old and only three kilometers away from the hypocenter on Aug 6, 1945, when the bombing devastated the city. The 79-year-old began to talk about what happened to him after he retired.

At around 8 am, Sakuma and the other nine lined up in front of the park’s cenotaph.

“We came here today hoping to share the joy of the prize with all those killed in the atomic bombing,” Sakuma said. “We will come here again when nuclear weapons have been abolished. Rest in peace until the time comes.”

The 10 then observed a moment of silence, with some in tears.

Sakuma said that Friday’s announcement gave him encouragement once again to continue his activities even though the number of atomic bomb survivors, also known as Hibakusha, is decreasing rapidly.

Sakuma also referred to a phrase often used by Sunao Tsuboi, who spearheaded antinuclear campaigns until his death at 96 in 2021.

“Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing,” he said. “We will do our best under the spirit of ‘never giving up’ to realize a world free from nuclear weapons, which Tsuboi-san along with many other survivors and bereaved families have longed for.”

Mitsue Furuta, deputy secretary general of the prefectural group, lost her father in the atomic bombing.

“It’s uncertain when and if nuclear weapons will be used in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East,” the 77-year-old woman said. “We will continue to press [the central government] to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”

Denise Jean-Louis, a tourist from France, was in the park on Saturday morning. Looking at the Atomic Bomb Dome, the 60-year-old said that honoring Nihon Hidankyo with the Nobel Peace Prize is significant not just for Japan but for the world, as wars are being fought in various places.

Minoru Hataguchi, a former director of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, was moved by Friday’s announcement, saying that all the hard work that Hibakusha have done over the years “has finally paid off.”

For decades, Hataguchi, 78, did not disclose his exposure to radiation while inside his mother’s womb because he did not want to be pitied. However, he began to discuss his story after assuming the post at the museum in 1997.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2024