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>>TOKYO EA group of Japanese musicians, including Okinawa singer Shokichi Kina, will head for Baghdad to hold a peace concert there Saturday in protest at a possible U.S.-led attack on Iraq, they said Wednesday.

Also on Saturday, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Japan will stage a peace parade in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in coordination with other simultaneous mass peace actions around the world, representatives of the NGOs said at a news conference in Tokyo.

The "No Wars But Celebration" delegation, featuring the acclaimed Okinawa band Shokichi Kina and Champloose, will leave for Iraq on Thursday morning. They are hoping to perform with Iraqi musicians in Baghdad and will return to Japan on Feb 20.

"The world has in its possession weapons that can destroy the earth many times and wipe out the human race thousands of times over," Kina said. "What would it become if there was a war?"

"I want to call upon all musicians in the world and ask them why they are now silent over the issue despite having been singing about love and peace all along," Kina said, adding that famous artists, in particular, have a great influence in this kind of peace movement.

Kina and his NGO "All Weapons into Musical Instruments" said Abdul Wahab Ghazal, charge d'affaires of Iraq's diplomatic mission in Tokyo, has accepted in principle their proposal for Iraq's participation in the movement that requests weapons from around the world be melted down and used to construct peace monuments.

Toru Wakabayashi, a member of the International Citizens' Observers to Iraq, and Misu Cho of the Peace Boat said their NGOs will also send delegations to Iraq to act as "human shields" and to bring information about the country back to Japan.

Wakabayashi, who resigned from his job as a high school instructor in late January in order to undertake the journey, said he will stay in Iraq until the United States decides not to wage war on the country or the war ends.

"Although I may not be able to do anything substantial, I believe I can comfort the high school students there and tell them everything will be fine," he said.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry issued a travel advisory on Jan. 23 calling on Japanese nationals in Baghdad to evacuate from the Iraqi capital. It is eyeing issuing a stronger evacuation advisory for Iraq and surrounding countries if the situation deteriorates.

In Japan, the "February 15 Peace Action in Tokyo" will consist of speeches, performances and a peace parade through the streets of Shibuya from 6:30 p.m. Saturday, a representative of the organizing committee said.

The event, organized by 15 NGOs in Japan including Green Peace Japan and the Peace Boat, will coincide with a series of global antiwar events coordinated by British NGO "Stop the War Coalition."

On Jan 18, over 5,000 people participated in a peace march in Tokyo organized by 33 NGOs, also as part of global protests against a possible war on Iraq. (Kyodo News)