This essay is from Takayama Masayuki’s regular column published in the April issue of THEMIS, a monthly magazine available by subscription only.
This piece further demonstrates that Takayama is not only a unique journalist in the postwar world but also a singular artist of our time.
Some time ago, an elderly female professor from the Royal Ballet School of Monaco—greatly respected by prima ballerinas worldwide—visited Japan.
During her visit, she spoke about the significance of artists, saying:
“Artists are important because they are the only ones who can shine a light on hidden truths and express them.”
There would hardly be anyone who disagrees with her words.
Takayama Masayuki is not only a one-of-a-kind journalist in the postwar world; it would be no exaggeration to say that he is also a one-of-a-kind artist.
This essay brilliantly proves the correctness of my belief that no one today is more deserving of the Nobel Prize in Literature than Takayama.
It is essential reading not only for Japanese citizens but for people all over the world.
The Atomic Bomb Survivors’ Association Should Condemn the U.S. for Dropping the Bomb!
The Nobel Peace Prize Has Become Far Too Political—Just Look at Obama and ICAN
Outside of fruit flies, there were no deformities.
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which publishes the diplomatic opinion journal Foreign Affairs, once had a chairman of great moral integrity and sound judgment: Richard Haass. He was so exemplary that it seemed a waste to call him merely an American.
Over a decade ago, Haass criticized the Nobel Peace Prize, saying, "It has become far too political."
The true Nobel Prize is awarded based on rigorous standards, typically only after the passage of about a decade to confirm the validity of the achievement.
For example, Hideki Yukawa, who proved the existence of mesons, received the prize 14 years after his publication.
In Yukawa’s case, it wasn’t just the scientific scrutiny that caused the delay. British physicist Cecil Powell had succeeded in visualizing subatomic particles using photographic plates and was set to receive the prize, but because his success relied on Yukawa’s meson theory, it would have been improper to bypass Yukawa.
Thus, Yukawa received the Nobel Prize first, followed by Powell the next year.
That fair outcome was only possible because the stage was still set in a relatively decent Britain.
Had it been in the United States, the result would have been different.
America has a history of shamelessly appropriating the discoveries of non-white scientists, as seen in the case of Jokichi Takamine’s adrenaline.
In fact, when Americans are involved, even the legitimate Nobel Prizes become criminally distorted.
America demonstrated the power of nuclear weapons by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, showing that they were thousands of times more powerful than conventional TNT.
At the same time, they spread the idea that such weapons would render the affected countries inert for generations.
The Nobel Prize awarded to Hermann Muller the year after the bombing of Hiroshima is a case in point.
He exposed fruit flies to radiation and found that it caused genetic mutations, with deformities continuing across generations—implying that atomic bomb survivors could never escape the curse of genetic defects.
But when his experiments were reviewed, it turned out that such deformities occurred only in fruit flies.
Later research confirmed that damaged genetic cells commit suicide through a process known as apoptosis.
In humans, nearly 10,000 defective cells undergo apoptosis every day, maintaining health.
If these cells don’t die, they proliferate into cancer.
Muller’s theory of genetic mutations applied only to fruit flies.
The U.S. concealed this fact, awarded Muller the Nobel Prize, and made it seem as though nuclear radiation would cause lasting deformities in human populations.
It was a bluff:
“The destructive power of nuclear weapons is not just in the blast—radiation will irreversibly damage the genes of all who are exposed, rendering the country of victims unable to recover.”
With this narrative, America intended to make all nations too frightened to oppose it.
But soon the Russians acquired nuclear weapons, followed by the Chinese.
These three countries quickly formed an alliance to monopolize nuclear arms.
The fear of genetic mutation became a convenient piece of propaganda.
To reinforce this fear, they introduced the standard of "annual radiation exposure limit: 1 millisievert."
But this number is meaningless—it assumes humans are like fruit flies and lack apoptosis.
“We’ll Drop a Third One” — a Threat
In reality, radiation exposure up to 500 times that amount has no harmful effects. In fact, it promotes apoptosis and has even been found to help alleviate severe cancers.
When life first emerged on Earth, background radiation was far higher than it is today.
Thus, the idea that radiation is inherently harmful to life is flawed.
Yet, anti-nuclear organizations are leading the charge in spreading this false fear.
Most of these groups are supported by China—and it is such organizations that now receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Haass rightly pointed out the overly political nature of the prize.
A prime example: Obama received the prize simply for uttering the phrase “a world without nuclear weapons.”
Yet he hesitated to visit Hiroshima and offered no words of remorse at the Atomic Bomb Dome, despite representing the country that dropped the bomb.
Following him was ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), an NGO essentially birthed by USAID and now under pressure from the Trump administration.
Its director, Beatrice Fihn, had never visited Hiroshima before winning the Nobel Prize.
When she finally did visit, she condemned Japan for not joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, even going so far as to say:
“You’ll get a third bomb.”
Japan still retains the right to retaliate with two nuclear bombs against the U.S.
The U.S. has neither apologized nor offered compensation.
To join the treaty would mean Japan willingly abandons its right of retaliation.
ICAN has no right whatsoever to demand Japan, the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, to forfeit such a right.
Many Japanese likely wanted to kick this woman in the rear.
Moreover, despite her arrogant attitude toward Japan, she has never uttered a word against North Korea, which continues to develop nuclear weapons openly.
That’s because North Korea serves as a propaganda tool to perpetuate nuclear fear for both the U.S. and China.
Japan Has the Right to Demand Compensation from the U.S.
Following ICAN, the Atomic Bomb Survivors’ Association of Japan (Hidankyo) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
If anything, they should have received it before Obama, as actual victims of the bombings.
Yet this, too, shows how politically distorted the process has become.
It was the U.S. that dropped nuclear bombs on civilian populations—a deeply inhumane act.
And it is the U.S. that bears the greatest responsibility.
But Japan, to conclude the previous war, relinquished the right to demand reparations from the U.S.
As a result, the Japanese government has assumed the responsibility of compensating atomic bomb victims.
However, during the award ceremony, Hidankyo inexplicably lashed out at the Japanese government, accusing it of insufficient compensation.
But survivors are not bound by agreements between the U.S. and Japanese governments.
They are fully entitled to demand reparations from the U.S., which committed these inhumane acts in violation of international law.
Their silence on this issue—while attacking their own government—is no different from the Japanese Communist Party.
Or perhaps, like other NGOs, they are simply acting under instructions.
In any case, it is far from commendable behavior.
