The Prime Minister congratulates Nihon Hidankyo on Nobel Peace Prize
Press release | Date: 11/10/2024 | Office of the Prime Minister
‘On behalf of the Norwegian Government, I would like to congratulate the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. In its announcement, the Norwegian Nobel Committee stated that the organisation is receiving the 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,’ said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
This year, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha.
‘These are weapons that no one wants to see used ever again. The survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki know this better than anyone, and that is why their witness accounts are so crucial. This is an important award, which also highlights how valuable the efforts of this kind of grassroots movement can be. This year’s prize is a reminder of why we must continue to work to promote both disarmament and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. And it is a necessary warning to those making direct threats about using nuclear weapons,’ said Mr Støre.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee selects the Nobel Peace Prize laureates and gives grounds for its choice. The committee is independent of both the Storting (Norwegian parliament) and the Norwegian Government.