June 19, 2025

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) on June 18 held its first regular general assembly in Tokyo after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, protesting against Israel’s military strikes on Iran and calling for a ceasefire.

Tanaka Shigemitsu, a Nihon Hidankyo representative director, in his opening address to the 70th general assembly, said that Hidankyo has employed the slogan, “No more Hibakusha! No more war!” since its founding, and that nuclear weapons have not been used in the past 80 years.

Tanaka strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Iran, including on an Iranian nuclear complex.

He noted that according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Japan is the tenth largest military power in the world. He urged the Japanese government to return to the time when the postwar Constitution was enforced and to make the best use of this pacifist Constitution for dialogue-based diplomacy. He expressed his strong desire that Japan ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons without delay.

Hamasumi Jiro, a Hidankyo deputy secretary general, called for an increase in Hidankyo activities to seek state compensation for all the survivors of the atomic bombings. He also proposed a Hibakusha campaign, in cooperation with civil societies worldwide, to create a world without nuclear weapons and wars.