December 11, 2024

On November 10, the day of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) in Oslo, Norway, A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha) and their children (2nd-generation Hibakusha), with a renewed determination to abolish nuclear weapons, took to the streets in Tokyo and Hiroshima to push the Japanese government to sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

In Tokyo, a street campaign took place near Ochanomizu Station to collect signatures from passersby on a petition urging the Japanese government to sign and ratify the TPNW. This action was called for by the Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo).

Gensuikyo Secretary General Yasui Masakazu expressed his congratulations on Nihon Hidankyo’s winning of the peace prize, and said, “It will mark 80 years next year since the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Let us renew our unwavering commitment to achieving a nuclear arms-free world.”

A 90-year-old Hibakusha, Takagi Yasuyuki, who was nine years old and living in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, said, “I’m engaging in anti-nuclear weapons activities for the sake of my mother who was killed in the atomic bombing.” A 2nd-generation Hibakusha, Nakayama Masao, 73, said that he became a peace activist when he was a student, and added, “Aiming to pass on my parents’ stories to future generations, I’ll continue taking part in Hibakusha testimony activities.”

In Hiroshima, holding banners that read, “Japanese gov’t should participate in the TPNW!”, “Let’s realize a peaceful world without nuclear weapons!”, 120 people, including Hibakusha, assembled in front of the A-bomb Dome.

Former House of Representatives member of the Japanese Communist Party Ohira Yoshinobu and JCP members of the prefectural assembly, Fujii Toshiko and Kawamura Akiko, joined the rally.

Hiroshima Gensuikyo representative director Kanbe Yasuyo expressed her respect to this year’s Noble Peace Prize winner, a persistent advocate for the total elimination of nuclear arms. Noting that the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings is approaching, she said, “Taking advantage of the TPNW and the awarding of the peace prize to Nihon Hidankyo, let us strengthen our grassroots efforts to abolish nuclear weapons as well as to promote support for and solidarity with Hibakusha!”

Past related article:
> Hibakusha win 2024 Nobel Peace Prize [October 12, 2024]