An organization representing survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was named as the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its efforts to achieve "a world free of nuclear weapons."
Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Victims' Organizations, has been campaigning since August 1956 for greater health care provisions for survivors of the attacks — known as "hibakusha," or "bomb-affected people" — as well as a blanket ban on the development and use of nuclear weapons.
Announcing the winner of this year's award in Oslo, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said the grassroots group had helped lead a global movement that has "worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of using nuclear weapons."
Over time, that has grown into a "powerful international norm" that stigmatizes the use of nuclear weapons as morally unacceptable, the committee said in a statement. "This norm has now become known as 'the nuclear taboo.'"
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Tomoyuki Mimaki, the 82-year-old executive of the organization's Hiroshima branch and a survivor of the attack, was standing in Hiroshima City Hall when the announcement was made in Norway, and was immediately moved to tears.
"Is it true?" he asked. "Unbelievable!"
Asked by a reporter about the message he wanted to share with........