Opinion: Why New Zealand’s nuclear-free legacy matters more than ever

Marcus: "...New Zealand’s long-standing disarmament leadership has never been more important."

This week marks 80 years since the atomic bombings of Japan – events that reshaped world history.

On 6 August 1945, the United States dropped the first nuclear weapon used in warfare on Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. By the end of that year, more than 400,000 people had died. Many survivors, known as hibakusha, lived with life-altering injuries, psychological trauma, and the long-term effects of radiation.

Among them is Bun Hashizume, who was just 14 when the bomb fell on Hiroshima – only 1.5 kilometres from the blast. She later described the aftermath as “a melting pot of hell on another plane far beyond our conception of war”. She survived, but has never enjoyed a single day of good health since.

I first met Bun virtually during my PhD research into anti-nuclear activism, and later in person in 2023 at her home in Kamakura, south of Tokyo. Hearing her stories, witnessing her strength, and feeling the weight of her experience left a lasting impression on me. I’ve since been fortunate to meet her twice more.

Author Marcus Coll and Bun Hashizume in Kamakura, Japan, in 2023

What stood out most was Bun’s deep love for New Zealand. Her first visit in 1993, as part of a seniors’ English language programme, was life-changing. Encouraged by local peace advocates, including renowned writer Elsie Locke, she found the strength to speak publicly about her experience and began writing it down. Bun would go on to visit Aotearoa more than 20 times, calling it her “second home.”

In 2019, she published her memoir The Day the Sun Fell with New Zealand Japan scholar Dr Susan Bouterey. New Zealand’s nuclear-free stance, Bun said, gave her purpose and hope – more so than her own country’s, which has long relied on the US nuclear umbrella. Her story is a powerful reminder that our nuclear-free identity matters, not just symbolically, but in deeply personal ways. Not just to us, but to those who understand its importance best.

Why this moment matters

Today, the world’s nine nuclear-armed states – the US, Russia, China, France, the UK, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel – collectively hold over 12,200 nuclear warheads. In 2024, they increased nuclear spending by 11 percent, reaching a record US$100.2 billion. Recent conflicts have seen Russia, Israel, and the US make alarming threats or take actions that raise the risk of nuclear confrontation.

In this context, New Zealand’s long-standing disarmament leadership has never been more important.

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, a defining moment that galvanised public support for a nuclear-free Aotearoa. Two years later, in 1987, New Zealand broke new ground as the first Western-aligned country to legislate against nuclear weapons, rejecting the doctrine of nuclear deterrence.

The Rainbow Warrior docked at Queens Wharf in June 2025, 40 years on from the bombing of its namesake

New Zealanders also played a key role in the World Court Project, which led to the International Court of Justice affirming the illegality of nuclear weapons in 1996. In 2017, we were also among the first countries to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Law alone hasn’t sustained our nuclear-free identity – it’s also been upheld through public education and community engagement. Since 2004, the government’s Disarmament Education United Nations Implementation Fund (DEUNIF) has provided modest yet vital support (about $200,000 per year) for NGOs to engage schools, universities, and communities on peace and disarmament issues.

In Budget 2025, the government announced that DEUNIF would be halved this year and disestablished from 2026. This decision comes at a critical moment, as we mark major national and global anniversaries, including preparations for the 40th anniversary of the nuclear-free legislation in 2027.

Without sustained public investment in education and awareness, this move raises serious questions about how we maintain our legacy for future generations, and our credibility as a disarmament leader internationally.

A legacy we owe to survivors

A survivor of the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Terumi Tanaka, speaks at an ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) event in Hiroshima in 2011

In December 2024, the Japanese hibakusha organisation Nihon Hidankyo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its tireless advocacy against nuclear weapons. Bun, then 93, travelled with fellow survivors to Oslo to accept the award. Seeing these elderly hibakusha stand before the world was deeply moving – a testament to their resilience and a powerful rebuke to those who still hold the power to inflict what they have endured.

Bun told me she drew strength from the people of Aotearoa. “I never thought I would live this long,” she said. “But I feel the New Zealanders I met kept me alive. Their belief in peace and a nuclear-free world gave me strength.”

Nihon Hidankyo at Nobel Peace Prize Awards

As we mark the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people across the country are pausing to reflect on the devastating human cost of nuclear weapons. In doing so, we honour Bun and the hibakusha in the hope that no one ever experiences what they did eight decades ago.

Their testimonies are a powerful reminder that New Zealand’s nuclear-free legacy must not only endure – but remain a defining part of our national identity.

By Dr Marcus Coll is an Asia New Zealand Foundation Leadership Network member and Research Fellow at the Disarmament and Security Centre.

The Foundation's Asia in Focus initiative publishes expert insights and analysis on issues across Asia, as well as New Zealand’s evolving relationship with the region.