wfn.org | QUAKER ORGANIZATION NOMINATES HIROSHIMA SURVIVORS FOR NOBEL PRIZE

["Jenny Shields" <JShields@afsc.org>]

Janis D. Shields, Director Media and Public Relations
(215)	241-7060 AFTER HOURS: (302) 545-6596

AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE NOMINATES ANTI-NUCLEAR ARMS
ORGANIZATION FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Nihon Hidankyo Represents Hibakusha - Survivors of Atomic and Hydrogen
Bomb Blasts

PHILADELPHIA, PA (January 25) - The American Friends Service Committee
(AFSC), a Quaker humanitarian service organization, has nominated an
organization in Japan that represents Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors
for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.

Nihon Hidankyo is an organization of Hibakusha -  survivors of the
A-bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the subsequent H-bomb
testing in the Bikini Atoll.

Founded in 1956, Nihon Hidankyo has worked for the abolition of nuclear
weapons and the care and compensation of Hibakusha by the Japanese
government. With chapters in all 47 prefectures (administrative
districts) of Japan, one of Nihon Hidankyo's objectives is to improve
current policies and measures on the protection and assistance for
survivors. Its officers and members are all atomic bomb survivors.

Over the years, Nihon Hidankyo has help build the worldwide nuclear
abolition movement and has testified at numerous United Nations sessions
on nuclear test bans, nuclear non-proliferation, and disarmament.  In
recent years, Nihon Hidankyo has worked with a range of Japanese and
other nongovernmental organizations to organize citizens' conferences
focusing attention on the consequences of nuclear war and advocating for
the abolition of nuclear weapons.

 "We must try to look with the eyes of the Hibakusha," writes AFSC
general secretary Mary Ellen McNish in the nomination letter.  "Only
with that vision might we overcome our denial of the atrocity of nuclear
weapons and demand that governments eliminate rather than develop and
spread them."

"Nihon Hidankyo reminds us that we enter this new century with some
30,000 nuclear weapons spread across the world," the letter continues.

In its Hibakusha Declaration for the 21st Century, adopted at its annual
conference in 2001, Nihon Hidankyo states: "We want to open the "door to
peace" before our lives end, to a Japan where the constitutional ideals
prevail and a 21st century without war or nuclear weapons. The Door
should lead to a Japanese Government that will acknowledge its
responsibility for war, provide State compensation for the A-bomb damage
and establish the country as a nation rejecting nuclear weapons and war.
And it should lead to a U.S. that will apologize for dropping the atomic
bombs and embark on the abolition of nuclear weapons."
- MORE -
ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVORS' GROUP NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PRIZE, page two

The American Friends Service Committee is a faith-based organization
working for peace, justice and reconciliation in 22 countries of the
world. With national headquarters in Philadelphia and offices in 22
countries of the world, AFSC emphasizes people, not politics or ideology
- upholding the dignity and promise of every person.

The search for regional peace has been a major focus of the American
Friends Service Committee's highly regarded international affairs work
and the group has a long history working for peace and reconciliation in
an atmosphere of war.  In 1919 the Service Committee launched massive
programs to feed millions of starving children in post-war Germany at
the request of President Herbert Hoover, who was director of the
American Relief Administration at the time. During World War II, AFSC
provided temporary aid, housing and other assistance to
Japanese-Americans in efforts to get them out of internment camps.

In 1947, AFSC and the British Friends Service Council accepted the Nobel
Peace Prize on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends for
humanitarian service, work for reconciliation, and the spirit in which
these were carried out.

August 6 will mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.
To commemorate the anniversary and underscore the dangers of nuclear
weapons Nihon Hidankyo is planning an international conference that
month.

There are Hibakusha in countries around the world, including: Korea,
Russia, Pacific Islands, China, India, Pakistan, and the United States.
Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima identifies three major contributions
of the Hibakusha: first, "they were able to transcend the infernal pain
and despair that the bombings sowed and to opt for life;" second, by
telling their story they have "effectively prevented a third use of
nuclear weapons;" and third, "they have rejected the path of revenge and
animosity that lead to extinction for all humankind" and have, instead,
worked to create a future of hope.
For additional information about Nihon Hidankyo:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hidankyo/nihon/english/ , and information about
AFSC can be found at www.afsc.org.

# # #

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that
includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice,
peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the
worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome
violence and injustice.

Janis D. Shields
Director, Media and Public Relations
American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone: 215.241.7060
FAX: 215.241.7275