Nobel peace prize winner Hidankyo reaffirms commitment to nuclear disarmament

(24 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tokyo, Japan - 24 December 2024
1. Various of Terumi Tanaka, Co-Chairpersons of Nihon Hidankyo, holding Nobel Peace Prize medal
2. Various of representatives of Nihon Hidankyo (Jirou Hamasumi (L),Terumi Tanaka, Michiko Kodama ( R) ) pose for photo with certificate and medal from Nobel Peace Prize
3. Representatives of Nihon Hidankyo holding a news conference
4. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Terumi Tanaka, Co-Chairpersons of Nihon Hidankyo:
“I felt like I needed to work even harder on what I had done so far.”
5. Journalist asks question
6. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Terumi Tanaka, Co-Chairpersons of Nihon Hidankyo:
“Since this year marks a significant milestone of 80 years (since the end of WWII), I believe it is important to focus on the next 10 years and strengthen the movement moving forward.”
7. Journalist asking question
8. News conference taking place
9. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Michiko Kodama, Deputy Secretary-General of Nihon Hidankyo: ++answering question on Russia++
“They are threatening to use nuclear weapons, saying 'We will use them, we will use them.' But I wonder if they understand the true fear of nuclear weapons?”
10. Journalist asks question
11. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Terumi Tanaka, Co-Chairpersons of Nihon Hidankyo:
“I want them to hear about the true impact of nuclear weapons from those who have actually experienced it. That’s how I feel.”
12. News conference taking place
13. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Terumi Tanaka, Co-Chairpersons of Nihon Hidankyo:
“Once a hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) is exposed to radiation, they remain a hibakusha for life. They have to live with it. There's no escaping being a hibakusha. It is with this feeling that hibakusha live their lives.”
14. Various of representatives of Nihon Hidankyo (Jirou Hamasumi (L),Terumi Tanaka, Michiko Kodama ( R) ) pose for photo with certificate and medal from Nobel Peace Prize
STORYLINE:
Japan's atomic bomb survivors' group Nihon Hidankyo reaffirmed its commitment to abolish nuclear weapons on Tuesday after returning from a Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo.
"I felt like I needed to work even harder on what I had done so far,” said Terumi Tanaka, Co-Chairperson of Nihon Hidankyo, who accepted this year's Nobel Peace Prize on his organization's behalf.
“Since this year marks a significant milestone of 80 years since the end of World War Two, I believe it is important to focus on the next 10 years and strengthen the movement moving forward.”
The prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Japanese atomic bombing survivors who have worked for nearly 70 years to maintain a taboo around the use of nuclear weapons.
The weapons have grown exponentially in power and number since being used for the first and only time in warfare by the United States on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945.
The bombings pushed Japan to surrender to the Allies.
They killed some 210,000 people by the end of 1945, but the full death toll from radiation is certainly higher.
AP Video shot by Ayaka McGill
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