Nihon Hidankyo awarded Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to achieve nuclear-free world

Hidankyo, an atomic bomb survivors group based in Hiroshima and Nagasaki prefectures, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.

“This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the 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,” said Joergen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

The surprising announcement comes amid growing fears of the proliferation of nuclear weapons, with Russia and North Korea both repeatedly rattling their nuclear sabers. It also comes ahead of next year’s 80th anniversary since the atomic bombings on the two cities, which combined, killed an estimated 210,000 people.

The Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima
| Reuters