Photo/Illutration Jorgen Watne Frydnes, right, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and Terumi Tanaka of Nihon Hidankyo (the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations) at a news conference on the Sophia University campus in Tokyo on July 27 (Tatsuya Sato)

The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to a hibakusha organization last year, urged young people to keep the use of nuclear weapons as a taboo.

“The nuclear taboo is under threat,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, who appeared alongside members of Nihon Hidankyo (the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), at a news conference in Tokyo on July 27.

While August will mark 80 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised the threat of nuclear weapons being used again.

Tensions also continue between Iran and Israel, which is effectively recognized as a nuclear-armed state.

To understand the horrors of nuclear weapons, Frydnes said that it is important for younger generations to inherit the testimonies of hibakusha and uphold the taboo against nuclear weapons, ensuring that they are never used again.

“We cannot stop listening, even though the hibakusha’s voices will no longer be there in a few years. We need to continue listening,” he said.

Frydnes also mentioned that he traveled to Hiroshima and Nagasaki during his visit to Japan, and highlighted efforts to pass on the experiences of hibakusha through music, literature and manga.

“We’ve had the privilege to meet students, activists, young people in all layers of society in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and we are really impressed; not just by their dedication, but also their creativity,” he said.

Terumi Tanaka, 93, represented Nihon Hidankyo at the news conference.

“The world from now will be carried by the younger generation, but it is covered by 12,000 nuclear warheads. I hope that young people will listen to the testimonies of atomic bomb victims and reach a point where they absolutely ensure that nuclear weapons do not exist,” Tanaka said.

According to the health ministry, as of the end of March of this year, there were about 99,000 officially recognized hibakusha. Their average age was 86.1.

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