Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its longstanding activism against nuclear weapons.
Joergen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced the award, recognizing Nihon Hidankyo “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.”
The Nobel Committee has previously honored efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons. In 2017, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons received the prize, and in 1995, Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs were recognized for their work to reduce the role of nuclear arms in global politics.
This year’s award comes amid ongoing global conflicts, including in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan.
