2,000 Children of A-Bomb Survivors Support Hidankyo Movement

Tokyo, July 19 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, has reported that 1,999 children and grandchildren of hibakusha atomic bomb survivors participate in activities at entities linked to the group. Some people in the second generation serve as heads and top secretaries at prefectural organizations of Nihon Hidankyo, the winner of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, according to the report on the results of a survey by the second-generation committee of Nihon Hidankyo. The survey was conducted between December 2025 and January 2026. Responses were received from 32 organizations in 31 prefectures. According to the report, there were 18 second-generation organizations in 17 prefectures that cooperate with Nihon Hidankyo. The entities had a total of 1,999 active members, including the third generation. Members have held exhibitions on the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, collected signatures and shared their parents’ experiences of the bombings. Prefectural organizations have been dissolved in 13 prefectures so far due to the aging of member hibakusha. But the survey found that many entities still have second-generation leaders. Second-generation members hold top leadership positions at five organizations in Toyama, Yamanashi, Shimane, Kumamoto and Oita prefectures. Such people serve as deputy leaders at nine entities and top secretaries at 10 groups. When asked about the problems they face, a second-generation member said, “I don’t have any experience like those of atomic bomb survivors, so I can’t talk clearly about such things.” Another said, “It’s difficult to increase the membership,” while another questioned, “How will we be able to carry out activities and pass them on to the third generation after the number of hibakusha falls to zero?” Next month, Japan will mark the 81st anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. According to the welfare ministry, the average age of hibakusha was 86.66 as of the end of March. As many hibakusha groups nationwide face increasing difficulties maintaining the organizations and activities, Nihon Hidankyo plans to decide by June 2027 whether the second generation will take over and continue the organization or whether it will dissolve when hibakusha can no longer participate in activities. “Hibakusha have testified about their experiences and contributed to preventing nuclear war,” Yoshinori Omura, 70, who heads the second-generation committee, said, emphasizing the significance of the parent generation’s movement. “The second generation is also ‘atomic bomb victims,’ concerned about the genetic impact. We hope to expand the movement in cooperation with supporters,” he also said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]