Nobel peace laureate and Nagasaki survivor condemns Norway's fund plan to back nuclear arms
Nobel Peace Prize winner Terumi Tanaka, a Nagasaki bombing survivor, sharply criticized the Gjedrem committee’s proposal to let Norway’s sovereign wealth fund invest in nuclear weapons manufacturers.
In a video recorded for Nihon Hidankyo, 94-year-old Nobel laureate Terumi Tanaka denounced the Gjedrem committee’s suggestion to open Norway’s sovereign wealth fund to companies that produce nuclear weapons. He argued that deterrence does not eliminate the risk of use and cited his own experience of the 1945 Nagasaki bombing. The proposal, intended to revise the fund’s ethical framework, has faced resistance from parties such as the Red Cross and Norwegian People's Aid.
Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg has not yet formed a conclusion, and a senior official in the finance ministry said the recommendations will be reviewed after a wide-ranging public consultation. Tanaka urged Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and legislators to remember Norway’s past advocacy for a nuclear-free world and to continue campaigning against nuclear armaments.
Why it matters
The debate highlights how ethical investment choices can clash with national security policies and historical commitments to disarmament.
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