Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, believes it was named this year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize due to the highly appreciated work of each and every atomic bomb survivor, or hibakusha.
In a statement released on Monday, the group said commended hibakusha for consistently calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons through their testimonies of painful experiences so that no one else would have to suffer the same pain.
The hibakusha group also said that it takes the prize seriously, and is determined to work harder in the hopes of passing the torch to the next generation.
Nihon Hidankyo revealed that after the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) — with which it has worked — won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, the group little expectations of winning the same prize itself.
Against this backdrop, when it was chosen as the winner of this year's prize, Nihon Hidankyo said it could not immediately believe that it had won, but, nevertheless, it was moved by the fact that the root of its activities was understood. The group said its members hope to share the joy with the scores of their predecessors who have died.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has announced that Terumi Tanaka, the 92-year-old co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, will give a speech at the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo on Dec. 10.
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