Atomic bomb survivor, 93, appeals for peace amid Iran, Ukraine wars

Leader of Japan's Nobel-winning Hidankyo meets Hong Kong students, criticizes nuclear threats

20250617 Hidankyo x CUHK

Terumi Tanaka, secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo -- the group that won last year's Nobel Peace Prize -- speaks to students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong on June 13 at the University of Tokyo. (Photo by Kenji Kawase)

KENJI KAWASE

TOKYO -- On the day Israel first struck Iranian nuclear facilities and as the Russian war on Ukraine continued in the shadow of Moscow's atomic arsenal, a 93-year-old survivor of the bombing of Nagasaki delivered a stark warning to university students visiting Japan from Hong Kong.

"Why has the world become so advanced, but political leaders stay so behind, only seeking to enhance their own authority?" asked Terumi Tanaka, secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo -- a group of Japanese atomic bombing survivors that was awarded last year's Nobel Peace Prize.

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