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[1] Nearly 80 years after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, some of its survivors are being honored for their work.
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[2] The Norwegian Nobel committee has decided to award The Peace Prize for 2024 to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo.
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[3] The organization a grassroots movement of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors, earning the prize, for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.
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[4] "An area of complete devastation is all that can be seen." - Many saw untold horrors when the bombs were dropped, killing an estimated 200,000 people.
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[5] Emerging from the destruction of their cities to the devastating long-term physical effects of radiation exposure, as well as social stigma and survivors guilt.
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[6] One of those witnesses then, Toshiyuki Mimaki is co-chair of the organization today. He broke down when the award was announced, saying "It can't be real."
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[7] Across Japan, survivors are known as Hibakusha, or people affected by bombs, for years they were shunned and struggled. So today for many, their recognition was overdue.
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[8] This woman in Tokyo saying "The survivors are delivering the message to the world, so as as a Japanese person, I think this is truly wonderful." adding "I only express my gratitude toward those who awarded the Nobel Peace Prize."
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[9] The survivors Crusade for⁽¹⁾ disarmament is seen as precient these days, with growing anxiety over the threat that nuclear weapons could be used again.
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[10] The United States Russia and China all rapidly modernizing their nuclear arsenals, nuclear threats proliferating, with Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly threatening to use them in Ukraine.
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[11] And North Korea's Kim Jong-un raising the spectre⁽²⁾ just this week. Israel widely believed to have nuclear weapons inching closer to potential allout war with Iran, which has been working for years to develop its own bomb.
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[12] Nihon Hidankyo was formed in 1956, and has spent decades sharing its experiences of the hardship that has come with being a living memorial of the atomic blasts.
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[13] They're growing older now, yet say, "They are no less determined." "We will appeal to the world as we always have done." He says, "Please abolish nuclear weapons while we are alive." Janis Mackey Frayer NBC News Beijing.