Nihon Hidankyo

Nihon Hidankyō
Nihon Hidankyō
Awards	2024 Nobel Peace Prize
Website	[Official website Official site]

Nihon Hidankyō (日本被団協), formally the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, is a Japanese organization representing the hibakusha — survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. Founded in 1956, the confederation has served for nearly seven decades as the principal collective voice of those who lived through the only wartime use of nuclear weapons in human history. Through the painstaking collection of thousands of witness accounts, sustained lobbying of the Japanese government for improved support of victims, and persistent international advocacy for the total abolition of nuclear weapons, Nihon Hidankyō has occupied a singular position in global disarmament efforts. The organization sends annual delegations to international bodies, including the United Nations, to press for nuclear disarmament, and it has issued numerous resolutions and public appeals aimed at ensuring that the experiences of the hibakusha are neither forgotten nor repeated. In October 2024, Nihon Hidankyō was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "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 recognition brought renewed global attention to the diminishing community of survivors, whose average age has exceeded 86.

Historical Background

The context for Nihon Hidankyō's formation lies in the events of August 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9. The bombings killed tens of thousands of people instantly and caused widespread destruction, with many more dying in the weeks, months, and years that followed from injuries, radiation sickness, and related illnesses. The survivors — known as hibakusha (被爆者), literally "explosion-affected people" — faced not only severe physical ailments but also social stigmatization and economic hardship in the post-war period.

In the years immediately following the war, hibakusha lacked a unified organizational structure through which to articulate their needs and advocate for government support. The Allied occupation of Japan, which lasted until 1952, imposed restrictions on public discussion of the atomic bombings, further complicating efforts by survivors to organize. It was not until after the occupation ended and public discourse about the bombings became more open that survivors began to form regional and local associations to address their shared concerns.

The catalyst for a national organization came in the mid-1950s, a period of growing international anxiety over nuclear weapons testing. The 1954 Castle Bravo nuclear test by the United States in the Pacific exposed the crew of the Japanese fishing vessel Daigo Fukuryū Maru (Lucky Dragon No. 5) to radioactive fallout, reigniting public concern about nuclear weapons in Japan and galvanizing anti-nuclear sentiment across the country. This incident helped crystallize the broader anti-nuclear movement in Japan and provided impetus for hibakusha to unite on a national level.

Formation and Early Years

Nihon Hidankyō was formally established in 1956, uniting hibakusha groups from across Japan into a single national confederation. The founding of the organization represented the first coordinated effort by atomic bomb survivors to speak with a collective voice on matters of government assistance, medical care, and nuclear disarmament.

From its inception, Nihon Hidankyō pursued a dual mandate. The first was domestic: lobbying the Japanese government for legislation and programs to provide medical care, financial assistance, and social support for hibakusha, many of whom suffered from long-term health conditions related to radiation exposure, including elevated rates of cancer and other diseases. The second was international: advocating for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons to ensure that no population would ever again experience what the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki endured.

The organization's early years were marked by efforts to document the experiences of survivors. Members systematically recorded thousands of witness accounts — personal testimonies describing the bombings themselves, their immediate aftermath, and the long-term physical and psychological effects on survivors. These testimonies became a cornerstone of the organization's advocacy work, providing an irreplaceable record of the human consequences of nuclear warfare.

Career

Domestic Advocacy

Within Japan, Nihon Hidankyō has served as the primary advocacy organization for hibakusha, pressing successive Japanese governments for improved support measures. The organization lobbied for the passage and strengthening of legislation providing medical care and allowances to atomic bomb survivors. Japan's Atomic Bomb Survivors' Relief Law and related statutes, which provide government-funded medical treatment and living allowances to certified hibakusha, were shaped in part by the sustained pressure exerted by Nihon Hidankyō and its member organizations over decades.

The organization has also called on the Japanese government to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which entered into force in January 2021. Japan, as the only country to have experienced nuclear attack in wartime, has faced persistent calls from hibakusha groups to sign and ratify the treaty. However, Japan has not joined the TPNW, citing its reliance on the United States nuclear umbrella for national security. Nihon Hidankyō has continued to pressure lawmakers on this issue. A survey conducted by the organization found that 117 Japanese lawmakers expressed support for Japan joining the nuclear ban treaty, though only 20% of members of parliament responded to the survey.

International Advocacy

Nihon Hidankyō's international activities have been a defining feature of its work. The organization has sent annual delegations to various international organizations, including the United Nations, to advocate for global nuclear disarmament. These delegations have presented hibakusha testimony directly to diplomats, policymakers, and the public at international forums, lending a human dimension to disarmament debates that are often conducted in abstract strategic terms.

The organization has issued numerous resolutions and public appeals directed at world leaders and the international community, calling for the elimination of nuclear arsenals. Its advocacy has been grounded consistently in the firsthand experiences of hibakusha, using witness testimony as a moral and evidentiary foundation for the argument that nuclear weapons must never be used again.

In recognition of its international advocacy, Nihon Hidankyō received the Sean MacBride Peace Prize from the International Peace Bureau.

The organization's international advocacy has gained additional urgency in recent years amid shifts in the global nuclear landscape. In early 2026, Japanese atomic bomb survivors expressed concern about the expiration of the New START treaty between the United States and Russia, after U.S. President Donald Trump did not follow up on a Russian proposal to extend warhead limits. The lapsing of the last major nuclear arms control agreement between the world's two largest nuclear powers heightened fears among hibakusha about a potential new nuclear arms race.

Witness Testimony and Documentation

Central to Nihon Hidankyō's mission has been the systematic collection and dissemination of hibakusha testimony. Over the course of its existence, the organization has recorded thousands of witness accounts from survivors of both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. These accounts describe the moment of detonation, the devastation of the cities, the suffering of victims from burns and radiation sickness, the deaths of family members and neighbors, and the long-term physical and psychological toll on those who survived.

The testimonies have been used in educational settings, at international conferences, and in media appearances to convey the realities of nuclear warfare to audiences who might otherwise encounter the subject only through statistics and strategic analysis. Members of Nihon Hidankyō have traveled internationally to share their stories, and the organization has facilitated the participation of hibakusha speakers at events around the world.

In August 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the bombings, hibakusha continued to share their experiences publicly. One survivor, who was 13 years old when the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki and lived less than two miles from the hypocenter, published an account urging the world to end the nuclear threat.

Organization and Leadership

Nihon Hidankyō is headquartered in Shibadaimon, Minato ward, Tokyo. It functions as a confederation, uniting local and prefectural hibakusha organizations from across Japan into a national body. The organization's executive director is Sueichi Kido.

As of December 2025, the organization's 93-year-old co-chair continued to be active in efforts to influence public opinion on nuclear disarmament, reflecting both the advanced age of the hibakusha community and the determination of its remaining members to continue their advocacy work.

Recognition

2024 Nobel Peace Prize

On October 11, 2024, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Nihon Hidankyō had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024. The committee stated that the prize was given "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 award recognized nearly seven decades of sustained advocacy by the organization and its members, and it brought renewed international attention to the hibakusha community and the ongoing campaign for nuclear disarmament.

The Nobel Prize generated significant public and media interest in the organization and its cause. In the year following the award, support for nuclear-weapons abolitionist groups increased, though the fundamental challenges facing the organization — particularly the advanced age of its membership — remained.

Members of Nihon Hidankyō used the platform provided by the Nobel Prize to reiterate their calls for the elimination of nuclear weapons and for Japan to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The award was seen as particularly significant given the geopolitical context of rising nuclear tensions and the erosion of international arms control frameworks.

Other Awards

Prior to the Nobel Peace Prize, Nihon Hidankyō received the Sean MacBride Peace Prize, awarded by the International Peace Bureau to individuals and organizations that have done outstanding work for peace, disarmament, and human rights.

Legacy and Continuing Challenges

Nihon Hidankyō's legacy is rooted in its role as the organizational embodiment of the hibakusha's collective voice. For nearly seven decades, the confederation has ensured that the experiences of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain part of the global discourse on nuclear weapons. The organization's emphasis on witness testimony — the use of personal, firsthand accounts of nuclear devastation as a moral argument against nuclear weapons — has influenced the broader nuclear disarmament movement and contributed to the development of international norms against the use of nuclear weapons.

The organization faces existential challenges related to the aging of its membership. As of 2025, the average age of hibakusha had exceeded 86, and the number of living survivors continues to decline each year. This demographic reality raises urgent questions about the future of the organization and the preservation of its mission. In the year following the Nobel Prize, Nihon Hidankyō sought ways to ensure the continuity of its work as its founding generation passes, including efforts to engage younger people in nuclear disarmament advocacy.

One year after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, the organization was reported to be actively seeking strategies to continue its mission despite the aging of its members. The challenge of transmitting the hibakusha experience to future generations — preserving not just the historical record but also the moral urgency conveyed by living witnesses — has become a central preoccupation for Nihon Hidankyō and the broader anti-nuclear movement in Japan.

Hibakusha associated with the organization have pinned hopes on youth engagement as a means of ensuring that the anti-nuclear message endures beyond the lifetimes of the original survivors. While support for nuclear-weapons abolitionist groups has increased in the wake of the Nobel Prize, sustaining that support and translating it into concrete policy changes remains a long-term challenge.

The 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings, observed in August 2025, served as both a moment of commemoration and a reminder of the ongoing relevance of Nihon Hidankyō's work. Survivors and their supporters used the anniversary to call attention to the continuing nuclear threat and to urge governments worldwide to pursue disarmament.