‘Waiting for this day’: 100-yr-old rejoices after A-bomb survivor group wins Nobel Prize

TOKYO — “I had been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for this day,” Masakazu Saito, a 100-year-old hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) who has been calling for nuclear abolition for over 70 years, said after the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) won the Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 11.

“I’m so grateful to receive the news of this award while I’m still alive,” Saito, from Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, said in a choked voice. He was a second lieutenant in an army communications unit in Hiroshima 79 years ago, and was exposed to the A-bomb in the Hijiyama area 1.8 kilometers from the hypocenter on Aug. 6, 1945. He somehow managed to survive, and has continued to be active since the establishment of a hibakusha group in his Iwate Prefecture hometown after World War II.

Initially, the focus of his activities was on providing relief and mutual aid for A-bomb survivors, but it later shifted toward nuclear weapons elimination. Saito has frequently participated in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review conferences held in New York. Even at the age of 90 in 2015, he traveled to the United States to share his experiences at United Nations Headquarters.

Saito was ill and in hospital when he heard the news about the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize announcement. He said he was so happy that it brought him to tears.

“When I get out of the hospital, I want to talk (about my stories) again.” At his home, the hands of the dozens of clocks displayed in his living room are all set to 8:15, the time the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, to remember the victims and the ongoing suffering of the hibakusha.

Many of those who were involved in hibakusha-related activities alongside him have passed away. Saito told the Mainichi Shimbun, “I have always believed that contributing, even a little, to the realization of nuclear abolition gives my life meaning. I feel that the long years of effort have been recognized. I’m glad to hear of this news at the age of 100.”

(Japanese original by Shota Harumashi, Tokyo City News Department)