IPB mourns the death of Taniguchi Sumiteru

It is with great sadness that we wish to convey our most heartfelt condolences to the family of Taniguchi Sumiteru, to his colleagues Hibakusha in Nagasaki and to everyone engaged in the anti-nuclear weapons movement.

As a survivor of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki, chairman of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council in May and one of the chairpersons of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations he pushed for elimination of nuclear weapons.

He was 16 years old in 1945, when he witnessed the atomic bombing in Nagasaki. He suffered severe injuries, including severe burns caused by heat rays from the bomb and had to be hospitalized for years. After being discharged from the hospital, he launched an anti-nuclear campaign together with other Hibakusha. Taniguchi Sumiteru participated in many activities calling for improvement in relief measures for hibakusha and the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The International Peace Bureau also nominated Taniguchi Sumiteru for the Nobel Peace Prize 2015, for his tireless commitment for a nuclear weapons free world. Our common struggle for a world without war, from which all nuclear weapons are abolished, grew and progressed thanks to Taniguchi Sumiteru’s lifetime endeavours. He will be deeply missed, although we shall continue striving for a world free of nuclear weapons in his name, too.

Read the IPB Condolence letter HERE