Atomic bomb survivors in Japan have commented on this year's Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to a Belarusian activist and human rights organizations in Ukraine and Russia.

A senior member of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, or Nihon Hidankyo, Mimaki Toshiyuki, watched the announcement of the award winners on a tablet computer on Friday.

Mimaki said he had expected someone in either Russia or Ukraine would win the peace prize. He also said he hopes the award being given to groups from both countries will prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the invasion.

He added his organization will continue to work for a world free of nuclear weapons and the welfare of hibakusha.

The head of a survivors group in Nagasaki, Kawano Koichi, said he thinks the reason this year's peace prize focused on Ukraine and Russia was to convey such messages from the international community as "End the war immediately" and "Russia should stop its invasion of Ukraine."

Kawano said he hopes the war will end soon.