Hibakusha See Nobel Peace Prize Not as Their Goal

Tokyo, Nov. 20 (Jiji Press)--Japanese hibakusha atomic bomb survivors think the Nobel Peace Prize, to be awarded to their group, Nihon Hidankyo, is not a goal, as they tackle the task of passing their stories on to future generations.

Since Nihon Hidankyo, or the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, was founded in 1956, the survivors nationwide have been joining hands to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

As the average age of hibakusha has exceeded 85, those who have only dim memories of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki account for a large part of the leading members of activities to tell their stories about the bombings.

Of Nihon Hidankyo's three co-chairs, only Terumi Tanaka, 92, who lives in Niiza, Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, has a detailed memory of the bombing.

In 1945, Tanaka, then 13, was in Nagasaki when the atomic bomb dropped. He lost five relatives including his aunt whose body was found charred.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]