Atomic bomb survivors in Japan have voiced deep concern over the renewed risk of nuclear conflict following the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia. The treaty, which limited the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads, officially expired on February 5, 2026, raising fears of a new nuclear arms race.
Terumi Tanaka, a 93-year-old survivor of the Hiroshima bombing and co-chair of Nihon Hidankyo, a leading survivors’ organization, described the expiration as alarming. “I have a feeling that in the not-too-distant future, we’ll actually have a nuclear war,” he said, warning that nuclear weapons are often seen by states as tools of power rather than instruments of caution.
The New START treaty, signed in 2010, allowed for verification and monitoring of U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, helping to maintain global strategic stability. Its expiration leaves no legally binding framework limiting the world’s two largest nuclear stockpiles, increasing tensions and uncertainty among nuclear-armed states.
The hibakusha survivors, who experienced the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, continue to advocate for nuclear disarmament, emphasizing the devastating human cost of atomic weapons. During the bombings, approximately 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki, including many who succumbed later to radiation-related illnesses.
Japanese officials have pledged to work with international partners to seek renewed arms control agreements, but advocates stress that urgent global action is needed to prevent history from repeating itself. Analysts warn that the absence of the treaty could spark an accelerated arms race, involving not only the U.S. and Russia but also other nuclear-capable countries such as China.
As the world watches, Japan’s atomic bomb survivors continue to urge nations to prioritize peace, dialogue, and disarmament, hoping that the horrors of 1945 are never repeated.
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