"From now on, I hope that the next generation will find ways to build on our efforts and develop the movement even further."

So said Terumi Tanaka, who represented the A-bomb "hibakusha" survivor group Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) at the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony on Dec. 10, in Oslo, Norway. The 92-year-old Nihon Hidankyo co-chair spoke of his wishes for the younger generation amid the aging of hibakusha who can give firsthand testimonies of World War II and U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee commended Nihon Hidankyo's work of demonstrating the inhumanity of nuclear weapons through testimonies. As the average age of A-bomb survivors exceeds 85, how will future generations receive and pass on hibakusha testimonies?

One high schooler's answer...

The day after the peace prize ceremony, three hibakusha talked about their experiences at Oslo's Kuben Upper Secondary School. As a photo of a man with purple spots all over his body -- symptoms of radiation sickness following the atomic bombing -- was shown on a screen, some students covered their mouths in shock.

However, what caught my attention was a boy sitting in the back. Wearing a black puffer jacket, he was napping with his face down on the desk. Such sights are also common at testimony classes given at schools in Japan. Once the testimony was over, I stopped the boy as he was hastily getting out of his seat to leave.

"I was tired and was sleeping," he said with an uncomfortable look on his face. I asked him, "Was it boring?" and he replied, "Yeah, it was a sad story, but honestly, I wasn't interested."

The high school boy responded earnestly to my somewhat pointed questions. Then, three girls near us joined the conversation.

"They told us about their own experiences and their family's experiences, and we could closely feel the damage of the atomic bombing." "Pictures were used, so it was interesting."

The hibakusha's testimonies seemed to have a strong impact on them.

'Sick of peace education'

Meanwhile, Mohaddese Shukhi, a third-year high school student who immigrated to Norway from Iran, raised the realities of war continuing in Ukraine and the Middle East, and said:

"Even if we're taught the 'importance of peace,' the world is full of war. I can honestly understand those who are sick of peace education, and I also feel the same way. I want to hear fun things, not just dark stories."

I also visited the University of Oslo, where other survivors gave testimonies. There, Hideto Matsuura, who lives in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, and was exposed to radiation while in his mother's womb during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and two other hibakusha gave testimonies. Matsuura talked about his worries over his child's health as his wife's expected delivery day grew near, and how he faced fear caused by the A-bomb at other such stages of his life.

Among the around 360 audience members was Nanaka Abe, a 20-year-old exchange student from Osaka University. Abe had met and heard testimonies of hibakusha when she was an elementary school student in Okayama, a prefecture neighboring Hiroshima. Though she does not remember the specifics of the talk, she recalls getting scared at the survivor's story of losing their mother in the bombing, thinking to herself, "What if that were me?" She said that after that talk, she found herself paying more attention to news related to nuclear weapons. "If I hadn't heard that testimony as a kid, I don't think I would have kept my interest when watching the same news."

Remembering years later

After returning to Japan from Oslo, I contacted Keizaburo Toyonaga, an 88-year-old survivor living in Hiroshima, whom I've spoken with several times. I wanted to ask what he thinks about the power of testimonies, as he himself has been sharing his experience with children for around 30 years.

"It's hard to convey the horrors of nuclear weapons to someone who hasn't experienced them. But, it's important to keep trying." Each time he gives a talk, Toyonaga concludes with these words:

"War won't go away instantly. You might forget about today. But I want you to remember it someday, and pass on the baton of peace to those around you."

For the high school and university students in Oslo, it was probably their first time listening to hibakusha speak. It was because of her childhood memory of hearing a hibakusha's testimony that the Japanese student Abe has interest in news about nuclear weapons and visited the gathering this time, too. Years from now, the napping high schooler might also remember that moment where he was in the same space that hibakusha were sharing their experiences.

Soon an age will come where there are no A-bomb survivors left. How will we receive the testimonies left behind by hibakusha, and take action? The baton has already been passed to us.

(Japanese original by Deockwoo An, Hiroshima Bureau)