Japanese atomic bomb survivors group wins Nobel Peace Prize

• The recognition of Nihon Hidakanyo's activism against nuclear weapons comes at a time when fears about the use of nuclear weapons have grown, in part due to Russian President Vladimir Putin's threats over the course the war in Ukraine.

Driving the news: Testimony from Nihon Hidankyo members and other survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known Hibakusha, have helped create a "nuclear taboo," the Nobel committee said in a press release Friday.

• "The Hibakusha help us to describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable, and to somehow grasp the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons," the committee said.
• Nihon Hidankyo has increased pressure for nuclear disarmament by providing thousands of witness accounts of the destruction nuclear weapons can cause, as well as issuing public appeals and sending annual delegations to the United Nations, it added.

Between the lines: The committee also warned that modern nuclear warfare could be even more destructive than in the past.

• The U.S. killed an estimated 120,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when it dropped two atomic bombs on the cities in 1945, the committee said. A "comparable number" of people died from burn and radiation injuries in the aftermath, it added.

• Modern nuclear weapons are even more destructive, the committee warned.

The bottom line: "When we look at the developments and the conflicts around the world, we see how crucial it is to uphold a nuclear taboo, to uphold the norm" against the use of nuclear weapons, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Jørgen W. Frydnes said at a press conference Friday.

• "The Nihon Hidankyo and the Hibakusha is crucial in this context," Frydnes said.