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Nihon Hidankyo

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Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations
FoundedAugust 10, 1956; 68 years ago (1956-08-10)
FocusAbolition of nuclear weapons
HeadquartersShibadaimon, Minato, Tokyo
Area served
Japan
MethodLobbying
Executive director
Sueichi Kido
Websitewww.ne.jp/asahi/hidankyo/nihon/

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (日本原水爆被害者団体協議会, Nihon gensuibaku higaisha dantai kyōgi-kai), often shortened to Nihon Hidankyō (日本被団協, Nihon Hidankyō), is a group formed by hibakusha in 1956 with the goals of pressuring the Japanese government to improve support of the victims and lobbying governments for the abolition of nuclear weapons.[1]

The organisation's activities included providing thousands of witness accounts, issuing resolutions and public appeals, and sending annual delegations to various international organisations, including the United Nations, to advocate for global nuclear disarmament.[2]

This organization was awarded the 2024 Nobel 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".[2][3]

History

Nihon Hidankyo is a nation-wide organisation formed by survivor groups of atomic bomb victims from Hiroshima and Nagasaki in each prefecture.[4] The fallout from Castle Bravo, a thermonuclear weapon test conducted at Bikini Atoll by the United States in 1954, caused acute radiation syndrome in residents of neighbouring atolls and 23 crew members of the Japanese fishing vessel Daigo Fukuryū Maru. This led to the formation of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs in Hiroshima the following year.[5] Inspired and supported by this movement, atomic bomb survivors established Nihon Hidankyo on 10 August 1956, at the second annual conference of the council in Nagasaki.[6] However, the movement's solidarity was jeopardised when the council became actively involved in the anti-U.S.-Japan Security Treaty movement alongside the left-leaning Japan Socialist Party in 1959.[7] A large number of supporters withdrew from the council, and with the support of the conservative Liberal Democrats, a new organisation, led by Masatoshi Matsushita, leader of the staunchly anti-communist Democratic Socialist Party, was established.[8] In 1961, when the Soviet Union resumed nuclear tests, the communist wing of the council refused to denounce them, which led to severe internal tension.[9] This led to a further split in the movement, with a Japan Socialist Party-backed group that denounces nuclear tests by any nation breaking away as a new council.[10] These tensions within anti-nuclear movements caused some prefectural Hidankyos to split at the local level as well, such as in Hiroshima, where there are both Socialist Party-backed and Communist Party-backed Hidankyos with the same name.[4] The nationwide organisation itself decided not to align with any political movements in 1965, after they became highly politicised.[4]

Activities

As of October 2024, Nihon Hidankyo's activities include:[11]

  • Advocacy for the abolition of nuclear weapons and demands for state compensations
  • Petitioning actions towards the Japanese government, the United Nations and other governments
  • Elimination and removal of nuclear weapons, establishment of an international treaty for nuclear disarmament, holding of international conferences, enactment of non-nuclear laws and enhancement of hibakusha support measures
  • Raising awareness of the realities of the atomic bombings both domestically and internationally
  • Research, study, publication, exhibitions and gatherings on atomic bomb damage
  • Consultation and support activities for hibakusha

Key figures

Current officials[12]

Co-chairs:

  • Terumi Tanaka: Exposed to radiation 3.2 km away from the Nagasaki hypocentre at the age of 13; assumed office on 14 June 2017[13]
  • Shigemitsu Tanaka: Exposed to radiation 6 km away from the Nagasaki hypocentre at the age of 4;[14] assumed office on 14 June 2018[15]
  • Toshiyuki Mimaki: Exposed to radiation at his home in Hiroshima at the age of 3;[16] assumed office on 9 June 2022[17]

Secretary general:

  • Sueichi Kido: Exposed to radiation in Nagasaki at the age of 5; assumed office on 7 June 2017[18]

Former officials

  • Sumiteru Taniguchi: Severely injured by the Nagasaki bomb 1.8 km away from the hypocentre at the age of 16; co-chairperson until his death on 20 August 2017[19]
  • Sunao Tsuboi: Severely injured by the Hiroshima bomb 1.5 km away from the hypocentre at the age of 20; co-chairperson until his death on 24 October 2021[20]
  • Mikiso Iwasa: Severely injured by the Hiroshima bomb at his home 1.2 km away from the hypocentre at the age of 16; co-chairperson until his death on 7 September 2020[21]

Honors

Before being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Nihon Hidankyo was also nominated in 1985, 1994 and 2015 by the Swiss-based International Peace Bureau (IPB).[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Welcome to HIDANKYO". Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organization (Nihon Hidankyo) website. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  2. ^ a b c "The Nobel Peace Prize 2024 - Press release". NobelPrize.org. 2024-10-11. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  3. ^ "Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo of survivors of the World War II atomic bombings". telegraphindia.
  4. ^ a b c "被団協機能不全に 「はっちゃん」の努力 原爆を背負って(42)". 西日本新聞me (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  5. ^ "ヒロシマの記録１９５５ ９月". 中国新聞ヒロシマ平和メディアセンター (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  6. ^ "日本被団協". www.ne.jp. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  7. ^ "ヒロシマの記録１９５９ ３月". 中国新聞ヒロシマ平和メディアセンター (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  8. ^ "ヒロシマの記録１９６１ １１月". 中国新聞ヒロシマ平和メディアセンター (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  9. ^ "ヒロシマの記録１９６１ ９月". 中国新聞ヒロシマ平和メディアセンター (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  10. ^ peace-forum20 (2020-05-01). "原水禁とは - 原水禁". 原水禁 - 核と人類は共存できない. Retrieved 2024-10-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "日本被団協". www.ne.jp. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  12. ^ "welcome to HIDANKYO in Japanese". www.ne.jp. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  13. ^ 長崎新聞 (2018-06-15). "被団協 代表委員に田中重光氏 総会で選出 故谷口氏の後任 ｜ 長崎新聞". 長崎新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  14. ^ "長崎の声 - 広島・長崎の記憶～被爆者からのメッセージ - 朝日新聞社". www.asahi.com. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  15. ^ 長崎新聞 (2018-06-15). "被団協 代表委員に田中重光氏 総会で選出 故谷口氏の後任 ｜ 長崎新聞". 長崎新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  16. ^ "広島の声 - 広島・長崎の記憶～被爆者からのメッセージ - 朝日新聞社". www.asahi.com. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  17. ^ "日本被団協の代表委員に箕牧さん 大きな壁に挑む新たな「顔」：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). 2022-06-09. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  18. ^ "日本被団協の代表委員に箕牧さん 大きな壁に挑む新たな「顔」：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). 2022-06-09. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  19. ^ "Nagasaki atomic bomb survivor Sumiteru Taniguchi dies at 88". BBC. 2017-08-30. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  20. ^ "Sunao Tsuboi: Campaigning Hiroshima survivor dies aged 96". BBC. 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  21. ^ "Anti-nuclear crusader Mikiso Iwasa dies at the age of 91". The Asahi Shimbun. 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  22. ^ Seán MacBride Peace Prize - IPB
  23. ^ "Japanese atomic bomb survivor organisation Nihon Hidankyo wins Nobel Peace Prize: All you need to know". The Indian Express. 2024-10-11. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  24. ^ Atomic bomb survivors nominated for Nobel prize | The Japan Times. They were awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 2024.
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