1 Year On, Nihon Hidankyo Seeks to Continue as Members Age

Tokyo, Dec. 17 (Jiji Press)--One year after receiving the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, is seeking ways to continue its activities amid the aging of hibakusha atomic bomb survivors.

The average age of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 is now over 86. This presents a challenge to the continuation of the group's activities aimed at nuclear abolition, even as the situation regarding nuclear weapons grows increasingly severe.

In June, Jiro Hamasumi, 79, introduced himself as "the youngest hibakusha" at a press conference after being elected as secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo.

The secretary-general sets the direction of the group's activities and negotiates with the government. It was the first time Nihon Hidankyo has elected a hibakusha who was exposed to radiation from the atomic bombing while in utero as secretary-general since its founding in 1956.

In addition to the secretary-general post, Nihon Hidankyo has three co-chairs who represent the group--one each from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and one from the Kanto eastern Japan region, which includes Tokyo.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]