Israel has criticized the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner, 82-year-old Toshiyuki Mimaki, a Hiroshima nuclear bomb survivor, for comparing the suffering of children in Gaza to what happened in Japan 80 years ago.

On Friday, Oct. 11, Mimaki was overwhelmed with happiness when he learned that the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, known as Nihon Hidankyo, won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Nihon Hidankyo, formed in 1956 after World War II, represents survivors across the globe to share their personal stories about the "atrocious damage" and pain caused by nuclear weapons.

Born in Hiroshima, Mimaki was only three years old when he saw the atomic bomb drop on Aug. 6, 1945.

The devastation he witnessed shaped his lifelong work for the elimination of nuclear weapons, becoming the co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo.

“Never did I dream this could happen,” a visibly emotional Mimaki said after hearing about his organization’s win, pinching his face as if to assure himself he wasn’t dreaming.

He then expressed surprise over his win and said, “They selected Nihon Hidankyo?”

“I thought those fighting hard for peace in Gaza would deserve it,” he said, during a live interview with Japanese outlet NHK.

“The images of the children in Gaza covered with blood held by their parents remind me of Japan 80 years ago,” Mimaki said.

“Children lost their fathers and lost their mothers with the nuclear bomb. They became orphans,” he added.

Holding back tears, he criticized governments for waging wars despite people calling for peace.

“Especially in places like Israel and Gaza, children are being covered in blood and living every day without food, having their schools destroyed, stations destroyed and bridges destroyed,” he went on to say.

Israel's ambassador to Japan strongly condemned Mimaki, calling his remarks "outrageous and baseless" and saying that such comparisons "distort history and dishonor the victims."

“I found no statement from the organization's chairman on the October 7th massacre, where 1,200 people, including women and children, were murdered  by Hamas, and 251 were kidnapped into Gaza,” he wrote in a post on X.
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