Celebrating the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo with Hibakusha

In October 2024, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that the Peace Prize for 2024 would be awarded to the Japanese Council of Organisations of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Victims (Nihon Hidankyo), for their tireless “efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.” The Nobel Committee upon awarding the prize said “We all have a duty to fulfil the mission of the Hibakusha. Their moral compass is our inheritance. It is now our turn. Disarmament efforts require insistent public appeals and sustained pressure.”  

In order to participate in the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on December 10, 2024, a 30-member official delegation from Nihon Hidankyo travelled to Oslo, Norway. This included not only representatives of the organisation in Japan but also atomic bomb survivors from Korea and Brazil, as well as partners who have worked with Hidankyo for many years to spread their message worldwide. Peace Boat’s Kawasaki Akira and Meri Joyce were honoured to be part of this delegation; Kawasaki on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Meri as one of Hidankyo’s official interpreters.

Additionally, at this timing Peace Boat also co-organised the ‘Nobel Peace Prize Celebration Tour’ , in cooperation with the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo). A total of 54 people participated, including first, second and third generation Hibakusha, and others who have been working together for a nuclear-free world for many years since the formation of Nihon Hidankyo in 1956. Peace Boat staff members Watanabe Rika, Hatakeyama Sumiko and Hashimoto Mai accompanied the group as coordinators.

During the three days around December 10, known as the “Oslo Peace Days,” both the official Nihon Hidankyo delegation and tour group participated in a full programme including not only the ceremony or live viewing event, but also meetings with parliamentarians and political leaders, testimony sessions with local community groups, the annual torchlight parade, and other commemorative events and actions.

A call to action: the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony

The ceremony was a moving, affirming moment for both those participating in person at the Oslo City Hall and those joining the live viewing at the Nobel Peace Centre or Oslo Library. Watching the scene of the three Hidankyo representatives Tanaka Terumi, Tanaka Shigemitsu and Mimaki Toshiyuki entering the venue, many were moved to tears, reflecting on the many long years of suffering and of action by the Hibakusha that had led to this moment. As Tanaka Terumi, who has sailed onboard Peace Boat on several occasions to share his testimony with people around the world, ended his lecture, those both at the venue and viewing remotely were all moved to a standing ovation, with his closing words echoing in their hearts and minds:

"Let not humanity destroy itself with nuclear weapons!
Let us work together for a human society, in a world free of nuclear weapons and of wars!"

Celebrations continued into the event, as many joined hundreds of local citizens for the annual Torchlight Parade. Slowly proceeding from the Nobel Peace Centre to the Grand Hotel, where the Nobel Banquet was to take place, participants jointly called out, “No More Hiroshima, No More Nagasaki.” As their voices echoed across the Oslo sky, the enthusiasm was so great that the cold of Oslo was not felt, particularly as the three Nihon Hidankyo representatives came to the balcony to greet the crowd.

Describing the indescribable: Hibakusha testimony in Oslo

As stated in the October 2024 announcement by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the historical witnesses of the Hibakusha have “helped to generate and consolidate widespread opposition to 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. 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 opportunity for dozens of Hibakusha to be in Oslo for the Peace Days was therefore an important opportunity for their message to be heard by many more, both in Norway and beyond, through testimony sessions, media interviews and more.

One such event was held at the Oslo Library, featuring the first-hand testimony of 92-year-old Hashizume Bun. 14 years old at the time, Ms Hashizume was exposed to the atomic bomb at a local bank 1.5 km from the hypocentre. She told the 200 citizens gathered about the city’s state immediately after the bombing, how she herself somehow survived despite having been on the edge of life and death, and the long-term effects of the atomic bombing that have continued to impact her, even now eight decades later.

After her testimony, people in the audience hugged Ms Hashizume, thanking her for sharing her story despite the immense pain it must cause her to recall. Even those attending who are already actively engaged in efforts for nuclear disarmament spoke of the rare opportunity to hear first-hand from a survivor, and how it was more shocking than they had even imagined.

Conveying the reality of the atomic bombings to policy makers

During their stay in Oslo, the Nihon Hidankyo official delegation met with the Norwegian Prime Minister Mr Jonas Gahr Støre, Foreign Minister Mr Espen Barth Eide, President of the Parliament Mr Masud Gharahkhani, and members of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.

Tour participants also had several engagements with policy makers. On the first day of their stay in Oslo, the group handed out hand-folded paper cranes to members of Parliament and citizens on their way to work one by one, conveying their message for peace and nuclear disarmament. Some received the colourful origami crane with a smile, saying “I will think about what I can do so that I can cherish the peace around me,” while others asked how to fold them as they wanted to convey the same message of peace to their friends.

As a member of NATO, Norway, like Japan, is also dependent upon the so-called “nuclear umbrella” in its security policy, and debate on nuclear deterrence is a key issue. Hibakusha Nishimoto Tamiko, who shared her testimony with parliamentarians in Oslo, stated that “There is a limit to what the voice of the Hibakusha can do alone. We cannot enter into discussions between states. So, I still hope that governments and parliamentarians will cooperate and use the voices of Hibakusha for diplomacy and nuclear disarmament.”

Norwegian parliamentarians stated that they are increasingly asked by the media and the public for their thoughts on nuclear policy since the announcement of Nihon Hidankyo’s Nobel Peace Prize. “Listening to their testimonies, I have once again learned the horror of nuclear weapons, and felt that they cannot coexist with humanity.” Those who heard Ms Nishimoto’s testimony conveyed their willingness to take action, stating that “we must strengthen our efforts towards nuclear disarmament, and to resolve issues through dialogue rather than force.”

A Message to Humanity: the Nobel Peace Exhibition

The Nihon Hidankyo delegation officially opened a special exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center on December 11, which the tour group viewed in a private preview the day before. Each year, an exhibition is developed to commemorate that year’s Nobel Peace Laureate. This year’s is entitled ‘A Message to Humanity’, and provides a moving insight into the destruction caused by the bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Through photographs and testimonies from the survivors, the audience gains an understanding of the Peace Prize winner's message: Nuclear weapons must never be used again!

The renowned French Magnum photographer Antoine d’Agata travelled to Japan in late 2024 to photograph the survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many of whom were present in Oslo and able to view their portraits at the museum for the first time. For this year's exhibition, the Nobel Peace Center has also collaborated with the world-famous Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who has created a special installation with 1000 cedarwood objects from Hiroshima. Each object represents a Hibakusha. The audience can pick up the figures, listen to their stories based on a survey by Nihon Hidankyo, and reflect on the ongoing struggle for a nuclear weapon-free world.

The exhibition will continue for one year until the next Peace Prize laureate is announced, and provides an opportunity for Oslo citizens, as well as many visitors from abroad, to connect with the history of nuclear weapons, the reality of the atomic bombings, and the message of the Hibakusha.

Hibakusha voices to the world

The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in recognition of the Hibakusha’s grassroots movement to achieve a world without nuclear weapons; yet, as was the case seven years ago when ICAN was awarded the prize in 2017, the Nobel is by no means the goal. In today's world, where the nuclear taboo is under threat and the risk of nuclear weapons use is as high, if not higher, than ever, the call of the Hibakusha is more important than ever. The awarding of the prize just before the beginning of 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings, is an opportunity to stimulate public opinion around the world on this issue, and encourage concrete action for nuclear abolition.

In his Nobel lecture, Tanaka Terumi urged “everyone around the world to create opportunities in your own countries to listen to the testimonies of A-bomb survivors, and to feel, with deep sensitivity, the true inhumanity of nuclear weapons. Particularly, I hope that the belief that nuclear weapons cannot — and must not — coexist with humanity will take firm hold among citizens of the nuclear weapon states and their allies, and that this will become a force for change in the nuclear policies of their governments.”

Heeding his call, Peace Boat will continue to work with our partners around the world to amplify the voices of the Hibakusha, including through upcoming opportunities such as the third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025, and through the “Global Voyage for a Nuclear-Free World: Peace Boat Hibakusha Project,” in which representatives of Nihon Hidankyo will join our 120th Global Voyage between April-August, 2025. It is the Hibakusha’s courage and willingness to share their painful stories over and over again that has ensured that nuclear weapons have not been used in war in 80 years, and it is our responsibility to ensure that their messages reaches people around the world in order to achieve the total abolition of nuclear weapons.