Nihon Hidankyo is a group of survivors of the 1945 US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The staunchly pacifist grassroots group received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2024. The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where Tanaka lived, in August 1945. Shortly afterwards, Japan surrendered, ending World War II. Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and about 74,000 others in Nagasaki, including many from the effects of radiation exposure. It was the only time that atomic weapons were used in warfare.
Earlier in February this year, these Japanese atomic bomb survivors claimed that they feared the world was marching towards nuclear war as the last US-Russian arms control treaty expired. The New START treaty ended with the turn of the calendar to February 5, after US President Donald Trump did not follow up on Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin's proposal to extend warhead limits in the agreement for one year.
Nihon Hidankyo
Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, said the world has failed to see the urgency of the issue. Campaigners around the world have warned that the end of the New START treaty could unleash a new arms race between the world's top nuclear powers and encourage China to expand its arsenal.
Washington has said a new agreement would have to include China. But campaigners said that Tokyo has failed to take any effective steps to encourage arms control in East Asia or to engage China to join such efforts.
The Japanese government said it would "continue working closely with the United States" to build a control framework for nuclear weapons. "Our country has consistently considered it important to pursue arms control and disarmament efforts that firmly involve relevant nations, including the United States, Russia, and China," Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato said at a press conference.
New START Treaty
New START was signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of Vladimir Putin who served a single term as Russia's president. At the time, relations between the two countries were undergoing a "reset". The treaty came into force the following year.
The treaty sets limits on strategic nuclear weapons - the kind that each side would use to strike the opponent's vital political, military and industrial centres in the event of a nuclear war. It caps the number of deployed strategic warheads at 1,550 on each side, with no more than 700 deployed ground- or submarine-launched missiles and bomber planes, and 800 launchers.
