Survivors of the atomic bombings of Japan are firmly in the spotlight thanks to this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. And they are keen to seize the moment.
The Nobel Committee announced Nihon Hidankyo as the winner last week. The organization represents survivors of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
Assistant Secretary General Wada Masako was less than two years old when she was exposed to radiation from the blast in Nagasaki.
She has since traveled extensively to relay her mother’s memories of the bombing, including at the United Nations headquarters.
Wada says many people had never heard of Nihon Hidankyo, and that some even wondered if there were any atomic bomb survivors — known as hibakusha — still alive.
She says Nihon Hidankyo should use the Nobel prize an opportunity for a fresh start, and that she is relishing the chance to help realize a world where everyone can live in peace.
Fellow Nagasaki survivor Tomonaga Masao says the Nobel Committee has invited him to give a lecture in Norway the day after the award ceremony later this year.
Tomonaga serves as the honorary director of a Red Cross hospital for hibakusha in Nagasaki. He says the committee wants him to speak about his studies into the effects of nuclear weapons, as well as his life as a survivor.
Representatives from other hibakusha groups in Hiroshima are extending their congratulations to Nihon Hidankyo. They held a news conference on Thursday.
Tanaka Satoshi, whose organization serves as a liaison between the groups, said this is a joyous time for all hibakusha.
Nihon Hidankyo will receive the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo this December.