Nobel prize for A-bomb survivors' group boosts hope for Japanese seeking a nuke-free world
For many Japanese survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their relatives, Friday’s awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Japanese organization against nuclear weapons gives them hope for a new momentum to push for a nuclear-free world
TOKYO (AP) — For many Japanese survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their relatives, Friday’s awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Japanese organization against nuclear weapons gives them hope for a new momentum to push for a nuclear-free world — starting from getting their own government to sign the nuclear weapons ban treaty.
Nihon Hidankyo, an organization of survivors of the two U.S. atomic bombings, became the first Japanese recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 50 years since the late Prime Minister Eisaku Sato was honored in 1974 for his contribution to regional stability and Japan's signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Toshiyuki Mimaki, the organization’s Hiroshima branch executive, was standing by at the city hall for the announcement. He cheered and teared up when he received the news. “Is it really true? Unbelievable!” Mimaki screamed, pinching his cheek with his fingers to make sure he was not dreaming.
“I believe the Nobel Peace Prize will give us more power to promote our cause toward achieving a world without nuclear weapons,” said Mimaki, who was exposed to atomic bombing at age 3 in Hiroshima, his father’s hometown, where he evacuated after surviving the U.S. air raid in Tokyo on March 10, 1945.
