OSLO (Kyodo) -- A representative of Nihon Hidankyo, Japan's leading atomic bomb survivors' group and winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, said Monday he is "saddened" by recent talk of using nuclear weapons amid heightened tensions in the world.

During a press conference held in Oslo, Nihon Hidankyo's co-chair, Terumi Tanaka, challenged the effectiveness of nuclear deterrence. He also said Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has made nuclear threats amid the country's war against Ukraine, does not seem to understand the threat nuclear weapons pose to humanity.