At a time of a both extensive and costly “overhaul” of U.S. nuclear weapons, and increased dangers of the use of atomic weaponry, area activists welcome the announcement of Nihon Hidankyo as winner of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.

The name of this Japanese group of atomic bomb survivors may be new to many Americans, but peace activists and the millions who over the years have opposed the U.S. and international nuclear arms race know them as “Hibakusha” — Japanese for “bomb affected people.”

Not only are they survivors of the first and thus far only use of nuclear weapons against civilians, the Hibakusha and their organization Nihon Hidankyo are volunteer ambassadors to the world, warning of the dangers of nuclear weaponry and war.

Upon learning of winning this prestigious prize, co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo Toshiyuki Mimaki wept, saying “We will appeal to the world, as we always have done, for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the achievement of an everlasting peace. … Why Nihon Hidankyo? I thought for sure it would be the people working so hard in Gaza, as we’ve seen.”

As quoted in Democracy Now!, he said: “In Gaza, bleeding children are being held [by their parents]. It’s like in Japan 80 years ago.” 

As activists for peace in Franklin County and western Massachusetts, we congratulate and thank the brave members of Nihon Hidankyo and all working for an end to the carnage in Gaza, violence in the West Bank, and dangerous escalation in the region, with its threat of nuclear confrontation.

As U.S. Americans, we call for an immediate halt to the sending and use of U.S. weaponry in the Middle East and demand real support for an extended cease-fire in the region.

Along with the weapons stop and cease-fire, renewed opposition to U.S. and international nuclear weapons expansion is urgently needed. A Sunday, Oct. 13, New York Times report describes “The Staggering Cost of America’s Nuclear Gamble” at tinyurl.com/3xckkwsn.

In a renewed nuclear arms race that no country can “win,” the report details how “the United States is set to spend an estimated $1.7 trillion over 30 years to revamp its own arsenal.” This waste of resources, taxpayer funds and human energy can only contribute to increasing the real dangers of climate disruption, poverty and authoritarian militarization.

Some of us are old enough to remember more than a million people demonstrating in New York City in June 1982 for nuclear disarmament and an end to the arms race. Some of us were even there, and our recently departed friend Randy Kehler helped start that movement with a grassroots campaign in western Mass. for a nuclear freeze, halting the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons.

There is an alternative, presented in the congratulatory message of The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the Nobel Peace laureate in 2017. ICAN “congratulates the Japanese Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations Nihon Hidankyo on receiving this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. This well-deserved and extremely important recognition comes at a crucial moment when the threat of use of nuclear weapons is as high as it’s ever been ... (It) should reawaken the global public to the extreme danger that nuclear weapons pose to humanity. Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the catastrophic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is more important than ever that the voices of the survivors and their urgent calls for action are heard and acted upon. All countries should immediately heed their call to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” For more information see www.icanw.org/take_action_now.

Anna Gyorgy, on behalf of Traprock Center for Peace and Justice, New England Peace Pagoda, Western Mass. CODEPINK, CT River Defenders, Nuclearban US, Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution, Mass Peace Action.