. >>> now we wrap up the program with footage from nagasaki city in western japan where a traditional three-day autumn festival has begun. ♪ the festival's main event is a dragon dance in which performers skillfully maneuver a 20-meter dragon around a stage. people from six local communities began this special dance at the shrine thursday morning. the nagasaki festival dates back 376 years. ♪ a group of 22 men acted out a japanese folktale about navigating a legendary boat through rough seas. the boat is designated as a cultural treasure. >>> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm katherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us.

cities between october 16th and 26th. >>> therack obama will not visit hiroshima and nagasaki, the two japanese cities struck by u.s. nuclear bombs, when he travels to japan next month. the white house said on thursday that obama will arrive in japan on november 12th for an asia pacific economic cooperation forum summit in yokohama. on the following day, obama will meet prime minister naoto kan to discuss a broad range of matters including bilateral issues and the nuclear programs of north korea and iran. but the white house says the two leaders will not issue a joint declaration on the deepening of bilateral relations to mark the 50th anniversary of the japan-u.s. security treaty. after the talks with kan, obama will travel to kamakura city near tokyo to see the great buddha statue which he visited as a child. white house, obama would be interested in visiting hiroshima and nagasaki sometime in the future, but he does not have any more time for official business since the focus of the trip is the apeck meetings. before the visit, he'll meet the chinese president hu jintao on november 11th in seoul on the sidelines