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2024年12月27日

70 years with NIHON HIDANKYO
A YMCA staff member accompanied them
to the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony.

　This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, NIHON HIDANKYO (Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations), has been closely involved with the YMCA for many years and worked together for peace activities since its establishment. As one of the contributing organizations for this year’s award, the YMCA sent one staff member to the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony held on December 10th.

　 The Hiroshima YMCA staff member, Takeo Nakaoku, visited Oslo in Norway from December 7th～13th with members of the representative group. He supported the elderly atomic bomb survivors and helped document the visit as a recording photographer.
The video captures peace activists promoting the end of nuclear weapons as they march through the beautiful town of Oslo.

After his visit, Nakaoku commented that “ The YMCA has been walking along with the atomic bomb survivors for many years and will continue conveying the message of nuclear abolition to the next generation. We have a responsibility to create a world without nuclear weapons. The Nobel Peace award is the start for that ambition.”

YMCA and HIDANKYO

The Hiroshima YMCA was established in 1938 and is located at the center of Hiroshima City. Since many of the Hiroshima YMCA members were victims of the atomic bombings, the Hiroshima YMCA has put effort into peace activities, such as recording the bomb affected person’s diary memorandums. Sadako Sasaki, who was irradiated from the atomic bombing died age 12 and is known as the model for the statue of “ Children of the Atomic Bomb (Genbaku no ko)”, was one of the children who participated in Hiroshima YMCA programs. After the War ended, the Hiroshima YMCA members, along with other groups, started to build a memorial monument for children who were victims of the atomic bombings.

Through these peace activities, the Hiroshima YMCA became a meeting place for the atomic bomb survivors. In 1956, NIHON HIDANKYO ( Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations) was founded in the Hiroshima YMCA lecture hall.

Since then, the Hiroshima YMCA has developed a lot of activities together with local peace-making communities. They included the Atomic Bomb Dome Preservation Movement of the 1960s, the Citizens’ Peace Movement in the 1970s, and the 10 Feet Movement in the 1980s.

The Hiroshima YMCA also supported the management office of “HIBAKUSHA APPEAL -International Signature Campaign” from 2017-2021. Thurlow Setsuko, the ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons) and Kunihiko Sakuma who is the chair of the Hiroshima Prefecture Atomic Bomb Victim Group Council, were active Hiroshima YMCA members in their youth and are good friends from the YMCA.

Mr. Sakuma and other members commented, “We strive for the next generation of the YMCA to understand others in order to create a world without war”. Today, with the rising threat of nuclear weapons, we should not waste the devoted efforts of atomic bomb survivors. The YMCA should carry forward our efforts raise our youth to be “Peace Makers”

▽ Hiroshima YMCA conducts a Peace Seminar and supporting activities each summer.
➡Hiroshima YMCA peace seminar site below:

https://www.hymca.jp/hymcagcc/works/pg2888602.html#peaceseminar