Hidankyo Delegation Arrives in Oslo for Nobel Prize Ceremony

Oslo, Norway, Dec. 8 (Jiji Press)--A delegation of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, arrived in Oslo on Sunday night to attend the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in the Norwegian capital Tuesday.

An airplane carrying the delegation touched down around 7:30 p.m. at Oslo Airport. Nihon Hidankyo's three co-chairs, including Terumi Tanaka, a 92-year-old hibakusha atomic bomb survivor who is set to deliver a speech at the ceremony, addressed around 30 Japanese and other journalists at the airport's VIP terminal.

Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Jorgen Watne Frydnes, 40, attended the session. The three co-chairs looked overcome with emotion as they held flowers given by the committee chief.

Tanaka said he was "extremely nervous" about his upcoming speech.

"We are old, but the nuclear situation remains very severe," he said. "I want to make a stronger appeal about what the hibakusha have called for and convey my wish that young people will continue our efforts."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]