On 11 October, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee announced that the Prize had been awarded to the Japanese anti-nuclear arms organization the Nikon Hidankyo (Japan Council of A and H Bomb Victims Organization) for its striving for a world without nuclear arms. The Nikon Hidankyo is an organization largely of members who have survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These survivers are known in Japan as Hibakusha.
There are various Japanese organizations actively opposed to A and H Bombs. Each has its own characteristics . Several are related to what in Japan are called "New Emerging Religions" such as the Universal Love and Brotherhood Association, Yokho International, and Konko Hyo. The two best known internationally having been active in United Nations related activities are Gensuikin (The Japan Congress Against A and H Bombs) and Gensuiko (The Japan Council Against A and H Bombs). The two organizations differ concerning the "peaceful use of nuclear energy". There is little likelyhood to unify the two organizations.
Throughout the years since the end of the Second World War, the anguish of the Hibakusha has not lessened. Rather, it has been intensified by the constant arms buildup which has made the Hibakusha feel that their appeals have not been heard and their experience has been in vain.
Within Japan, when it began to be rumoured that the aftereffects of radiation might result in genetic damage, the Hibakusha found themselves subject to discrimination in marriage, while their susceptibility to disease and tendency to fatigue made it difficult for them to get and hold jobs.
At this time when there are no governmental negotiations on disarmament and when disarmament is no longer an active issue on the agenda of many non-governmental organizations, the Nobel Peace Prize may help to give a human face to disarmament isses. There is yet much to do, and the Peace Prize may be an important step forward.
René Wadlow
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