>> welcome "journal." our top stories at this hour, in brussels, finance ministers are divided on the way a lot of the signal currencies debt crisis. iran needs were powers in geneva to restart talks on its controversial nuclear program, and the polish prime minister and his cabinet visit berlin ahead of a historic anniversary for both countries.

divisions have emerged in europe over the approach to resolving the debt crisis. finance ministers are currently meeting in brussels, examining proposals to create a joint eurozone government bond and extending the financial safety net, but there are obstacles in the way. >> germany has firmly rejected calls for an increase in the safety net from its current 750 billion euros. the international monetary fund is boosting that fund would -- germany has also dismissed calls for creation of a eurobond. >> the notion of eurobond instead of each member country organizing its own loan has been touted since the bureau was created. but it has been given fresh impetus by this year's troubles. >> there has been a long debate on the eurobond. i find the idea intellectually

attractive to correct the chairman of euro group of countries that share the common european currency says the debt agency issuing eurobonds could halt the debt crisis. germany rejects the proposal outright. >> everyone says we should not keep shaking the markets with constant talk of changes. the german government has avoided those discussions. we have decided what is necessary, made the necessary preparations, and will be doing that today and tomorrow. >> it is not ripe for countries like austria to keep the country stable who should not be expected to pay up for others. >> markets are waiting to see what the ministers decided in brussels. the ministers themselves do not know -- note is time to put on a show of unity. >> we ask the former georgia bank chief economist which

solution he favored, if any. >> i believe all of the suggestions do have some trade- off that is unwelcome. therefore, i guess at the end of the day there will be combinations of the three proposals being made. for my part, i believe the best way would indeed be that finance ministers and european parliaments decide on a eurobond that is then guaranteeing and allowing those countries that are trying to improve their fiscal policy to not be burdened by excessive risk premiums on their bonds. this would be my preferred solution. however, there's a political obstacle, but i guess any other solution would include even more difficult implications. at the end of the day, if we buy

in the federal reserve and european central bank war john bonds -- more in job bondjunk be would be in the deepest trouble. >> major talks on iran's disputed nuclear program are under way in the swiss city of geneva. the first such negotiations in a year. >> officials say the discussions were constructive and will continue on tuesday. tehran's chief negotiator held talks with katharine ashton is negotiating on behalf of the united states, britain, france, germany, russia, and china. western countries believe iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, but tehran insists it is pursuing a civilian program. our correspondent frank hoffman has been observing those talks and gave us this assessment of the significance of the negotiations.

>> the best expectation is that the talks will continue. the rumors were heard from brussels, they do not want to do anything that could give tehran a chance to step back away from these talks. the chief negotiator from iran arrived here in geneva saying it is only the other side of the security council members and the european union that could do something so negotiations would be stopped. those rumors were put into the media from the iranian side, saying that the iranians also put one crucial issue on the table, talking about the nuclear researcher that has been killed most recently. >> at least 40 people have been

killed and 100 wounded in a double suicide attempt -- attack in northwestern pakistan. it was in 8 semiautonomous tribal region. local leaders were reported to be discussing the possibility of forming an anti-taliban militia at the time of those bombings. a spokesman for the taliban has claimed refunds ability for the attack. how well our foreign troops winning over the hearts and minds of afghans? according to a new survey released in germany on monday, not very well. the reputation of foreign troops in afghanistan has dropped to a new low, and the poll also indicates that afghans have of poor opinion of international aid efforts. >> ever six the bundeswehr stepped up its efforts to fight the taliban, they have been increasingly been seen as the warring party by the civilian population. the image of germany, especially in areas where troops are stationed, is now very poor.

in 2007, 75% of afghans in the northeast of the country had a positive opinion of germany. now only 46% look at germany favorably. 50% have a negative opinion. dissatisfaction with the west is turning into outright rejection. in particular, people's hopes of reconstruction help from abroad have been dashed. 67 percent of those surveyed think much of the money is being misappropriated by government officials for their just 27% believed only a small amount of the money is misdirected. many afghans identified high prices for food and heating oil as a continued problem. not even one in three has a secure job. >> to south america now where colombian authorities say 16 bodies have been recovered from a landslide triggered by the country's worst rains in years.

more than 100 people are still missing. hundreds of rescue workers have been dispatched to the affected region. the mudslide occurred in the northwest of the country or around 50 homes were buried. >> rescuers and residents have been digging through the mud and debris, searching for survivors. but there seems little chance that anyone else will be found alive. and is still not clear how many people are missing. one of the few people who survive the mudslide describes what she experience. >> what are remember is an avalanche of earth that fell over us. it was a three story house right next to ours that fell on us. i ended up inside a closet and my partner was left lying by my side. i think he died. >> the day after the mudslide, many residents could only sit

in shock at the edge of the ruined settlement. this hillside collapsed on sunday after weeks of rain. aerial shots showed the roof at -- the route the masses of earth took. residents said that have long since warned authorities of the potential danger actors landslides in the area two years ago. >> to the ivory coast. the un has supported the election results to give his rival victory. he held the first meeting of his parallel cabinet on monday after bode miller separate sworn in as president over the weekend. -- after both men that were separately sworn in. it looks like one of germany's big construction companies is not going spanish.

>> the company has found a friendly investor to ward off a hostile takeover. it is a gulf state of qatar which has bought more than 9% of the company for four hundred million euros. a statement says the investment will strengthen its financial position and fund growth. it also waters down the nearly 30% stake held by a c.s. and makes a takeover by the company less likely. >> germany's third largest utility will be going public as basf is promising investments in asia. this was well received on the

stock trading floor, but has not managed to climb this monday. has to do with the fact that the german stock market is trading not far away from a 2.5 year high. on this high level, it needs a little bit more bullish sentiment to push the stock market further. >> let's take a look at some of the closing figures, starting in frankfurt with the blue tripchi. in new york, the dow industrials lower, and the euro trading at $1.33. newspaper reports suggest volkswagen plans to create some 50,000 new jobs worldwide by 2015. currently, europe's largest car maker employees of around four hundred thousand people. between 5006 thousand new jobs would be based in germany while others would be created in china and the u.s.

they are considering hiring thousands of temporary workers to replace those going into retirement. the sudden onset of winter has caused a surge in demand. tire manufacturers say they are delivering 20% more winter tires to dealers, compared to last year. that is enough to fit 5 million vehicles for icy road conditions. despite the extra, car owners are having to wait up to 10 days to get the new tires. >> and that face vying for having summer tires beat they face fines for having summer tires. to athens, where police and rioters have clashed during a protest there. thousands of demonstrators gathered to mark the anniversary of the killing of a teenager who was shot dead by police to years ago. the march turned violent and some protesters hurled firebombs and stones. riot police responded with tear

gas. in october, a greek court sentenced a policeman to life in prison for the murder of the teenager. chancellor angela merkel has been hosting poland's prime minister donald tusk here in berlin. members of their cabinets have also taken part in those meetings. the talks come one day ahead of a significant anniversary in german-polish relations. tuesday marks 40 years since the former german chancellor knelt at a monument of the jewish ghetto in warsaw. the gesture was known as a turning point between the two countries. >> it was an image that touched the world. 40 years ago on december 7, he knelt in front of a monument to the victims of the warsaw ghetto uprising. the gesture was seen as a turning point in german-polish relations. in berlin, his former state secretary recalled speaking with him about the move.

>> it took an effort. it was hard for me to even tell him that what i thought he did -- that i thought what he did was really great. when he responded, he told me he had suddenly had a feeling that laying a wreath on the monument was not enough. it was a spontaneous decision. >> of the current leader of germany's social democrat party said the legacy is still important today. >> we share a common and painful past. we can draw strength from that relationship. poland and germany can be worked friends within the eu and nato and push for closer ties with russia. >> chancellor angela merkel received polish prime minister donald tusk in berlin this morning. the two leaders and cabinet members held talks on the eurozone crisis and other issues. >> we have a close, friendly partnership with each other and

our relationship is strong enough that we can discuss any problems that arise. >> despite the current euro crisis, prime minister tusk said poland still wants to join the eurozone once the government feels the criteria to adopt currency. >> german government officials will meet with representatives of the internet industry on tuesday, with privacy issues high on the agenda. chancellor merkel has warned germany will not permit the internet to become a lawless zone. lawmakers are currently drawing up legislation on enhancing data protection for users here. >> information put on the internet space forever, and that is increasingly a cause for concern for users. privacy protection adds to save user information should not be on the internet without user's permission, and should not be gathered in the first place. there should be an obligation to

obtain consents, meaning that the user must give permission before his or her data are consolidated into profiles, and not when his or her dad are made public on the internet. consumer protection advocates think the government is not being tough enough with the internet sector. they are calling for clear laws regarding the way companies have a personal data. >> i should not first have three pages of terms and conditions before i see whether a social network grants rights or not. it has to be easier. it has to be transparent. >> critics say that is the only way users can main control -- maintain control over their personal information. it will only help if laws to protect them are made on an international level. berlin is to present specific suggestions at the i t summit on tuesday. >> they tune, i will be back after a short break with more on

the iranian nuclear talks in geneva. don't go away.

>> welcome back. world powers have been meeting with iran in geneva. these are their first discussions in 14 months on iran's controversy and nuclear program. expectations are low and there is a lot of public posturing from both sides. the u.s. secretary of state has challenged the islamic republic to prove to the world that it is not seeking to build nuclear weapons. iran's chief nuclear negotiator says his country's right to seek nuclear technology is non- negotiable. here is a look at the background. >> diplomatic attempts to persuade iran to rethink its nuclear program have failed to make progress in recent years. there have been many promises,

but mainly delays. so far, the process has resulted in little more than iran winning more time to pursue its nuclear agenda. in 2007, president mahmoud ahmadinejad announced iran had started enriching uranium at a facility in the center of the country. tehran says the uranium is for civilian use in power generation, but western governments suspect the reins of seeking to enrich the material to weapons grade, enabling the islamic republic to build a nuclear bomb. iran rejects those allegations and insists it has as much right to a nuclear power program as any other nation. we put that position to ordinary iranians in the streets of tehran. >> we know we are expected to repeat the slogans about it being our right, but we are tired. we know full well we are wrong.

>> the catastrophic economic situation in the country is also wearing people down. with high inflation and widespread unemployment, iran's and youthful population is lacking perspectives for the future. >> if people are hungry, and more and more young people are turning to drugs and the government restricts our freedom, that i really cannot see what good and nuclear program will do. >> but the iranian regime is not backing down, despite for un resolutions and international sanctions. only last week, washington tightened measures against iranian companies and officials. the iranian nuclear program has also suffered technical problems in recent months. a computer virus attack software at the nuclear plants. iran blamed western intelligence agencies for the attack and admits that " malware hedgecock

-- has cost this russian. -- has caused a disruption. >> we have solved the problem. it was not a noble act on their part. >> iran is paying a high price for its nuclear program. this by the joint pressures of economic sanctions, cyber attacks, and diplomatic isolation, the regime is showing no signs of compromise. >> we will continue on our path, despite sanctions and international pressure. the west thought we would give then. they are mistaken. given this atmosphere and the huge gap between the iranian and western positions, progress on finding a compromise could prove hard to achieve. >> making things even more difficult, iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad has said the

key issue of uranium enrichment will not be discussed in geneva. asked upon arriving in switzerland whether they are optimistic, iranian officials said everything depends on the other party's attitude. the west has tightened sanctions on iran in recent months, and the united states has warned of even more pressure. also, israel and many arab nations are looking on with concern at the iranian leaders direction. >> sometimes he is aggressive, then preaches peace. and unpredictability that puts his neighbors on edge. israel feels threatened by iran's rising power. for years, the government in jerusalem has been making emergency plans for a pop group -- for a possible nuclear strike. >> a radical iranian regime, armed with nuclear weapons, could bring an end to the era of nuclear peace that the world has

enjoyed for the last 65 years. >> iran's biggest competitor in the gulf region is saudi arabia. king abdallah has always publicly emphasized diplomacy in dealing with its neighbors, but behind-the-scenes, the world's biggest oil producer is fighting to maintain its pre-eminence. a website suggests that have been pressured to end their nuclear program. the saudis called on the americans to cut off the head of the snake. sunni islam is the dominant tree in saudi arabia. king abdullah fears the rising influence of iran and is arming to meet the threat. at the gates of europe, turkey has become a hub of iranian trade. the prime minister cast himself as a mediator between the west and ahmadinejad. in june, turkey voted against

tighter u.n. sanctions on iran. >> from the beginning, we have always advocated a diplomatic solution to the standoff. that is why we voted against the resolution. >> recently, moscow has shown more willingness to accept sanctions against iran, but president medvedev rejects a military strike on the iranian -- on the iranian nuclear program. a russian company helped build the reactors, and russia supplies nuclear fuel rods to iran. this is a tactic also mastered by iran, something which makes pteron so unpredictable for its neighbors -- which makes tape arountehran so unpredictable fos neighbors. >> iran is finally returning to the negotiating table, but at the same time, it seems that

pteron is still insisting on its right to nuclear program. party see any progress at this time? >> everybody must realize that there is no other way to have reasonable discussion and negotiation about the problem. what else could they do? they are under tremendous pressure, so they try to at least convince their own population that they are starting negotiations as a position of strength. >> how strong are the indications that iran wants a nuclear bomb? >> the problem is, even without the bomb, iran's nuclear program has a design which would allow them to be nuclear capable. ot go for the bomb, it would change the strategic balance. to overcome that, it would need trust on both sides. here is where the problem is. you have the technology, but if

you do not go for the bomb yet, people have to believe that you will never go for the bomb. this is what the negotiations are about, actually, to create the necessary trust. >> some of the cables that were published last week by wikileaks appeared to reflect a growing desire, not just on the part of israel, but other arab nations, to launch a military attack on iran. how great you think this thread actually is? >> i don't think there is an immediate threat for an aerial attack on iran right now. but the cables really show is a big -- this is something we knew already. if you look at last week's statements, both sides, arab and iranian, played down the importance of the cables. >> thank you very much for that assessment.

stay tuned for more on the geneva meetings and other international news. thanks for joining us. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

>>abirached: this week on world business... >>tilting towards windmills, egypt embraces renewable power to help meet its energy shortfall. >>our strategy is to reach 20% by the year 2020 from the renewable energy. >>an interesting overseas investment model for italian companies. >>the objective of the mission is to increase the trade between italy and the united arab emirates which is already five billion euros but we can do much more. >>could japan's policy of propping up its tiny farming community with huge tariffs, be damaging its international competitiveness >>what you have are a lot of small, inefficient and uncompetitive producers.

>>abirached: hello and welcome. i'm raya abirached and this is world business, your weekly insight into the global business trends shaping our lives. egypt's economy has been expanding at over five per cent a year for more than half a decade. just before the financial crisis hit, annual gdp growth had reached over 7 percent. this boom has brought with it new challenges - not least the ability of the country's creaking power infrastructure to keep up the pace. >>reporter: last summer, during ramadan, some parts of egypt's up market residential districts experienced a new sensation.

>>taha: electricity was cut out maybe 2 to 3 hours in some parts of the city, high net worth parts of the city ... >>reporter: the government's response was to promise to build more power stations, four of them nuclear. >>abubakr: the government forecast in the next 17 years is to add an additional 55 gw so to triple the actual capacity in 17 years. >>reporter: nuclear is expected to provide the majority of this new energy but egypt, with its limited supply of hydrocarbons, also plans to bring more renewable energy into the grid. >>el rahman salah el din: executive chairman, new and renewable energy authority, egypt our strategy is to reach 20% by the year 2020 from the renewable energy, twelve per dent will be from wind and eight per cent from the other sources like solar, hydro etc. >>reporter: that's a lot to achieve in a decade and renewable energy, with the exception of the hydroelectricity generated by the aswan high dam currently accounts for under one per cent of the country's power. many experts are skeptical that the goal can be met, although

most agree though that there will be some increase. >>abubakr: we do expect by 2020 that if we reach 7 per cent or 6.5 per cent that will be quite an achievement. >>reporter: and the main area of focus ..., given that the aswan high dam's power /potential has already been maximised, is wind. >>abubakr: we have a wind speed of 12 meters per second to 14 meters per second which to international standards is not of course close to what is happening in the north sea of 15-16 meters per second but 12 meters per second is quite a decent amount. >>hallouda: there is excellent potential for wind, mainly close to the red sea coast and also thereare some places around the nile valley and in the oasis desert. >>reporter: the country's wind farms currently produce over 500 mw of wind power. more is to come including, when the tender has been

awarded, 250mw from the country's first private wind farm. another, for 1000mw, is also in the pipeline. to some though the process is taking too long. >>abdel salam: the competitive bidding is a process of almost three to four years and the wind industry this is unacceptable because one of the big advantages of the wind industry is that from the day you decide to start a wind farm to the day you have it running could be down to one year and this is the beauty of this industry - its fast so now we are slowing it down with competitive bidding. >>reporter: solar power also has serious potential for growth in egypt with sun shining for over 350 days a year. >>hallouda: you know egypt has 95% desert and the desert areas are large and we are in the sun beltgeographically so there is huge potential for solar >>reporter: as technology develops so the price of solar is expected to decline.

but one thing the egyptian government could do to speed up that process is to reduce the amount of subsidies it currently provides for traditional power generation. >>abubakr: we can say that roughly the total cost to the government, with the transmission and everything is around 4.5 to 5 cents per kilowatt hours so you can see that the subsidy is about 40% moreat this stage. >>zahran: if you're looking at economic studies that are only five of six years old, five or six years in the future, then it doesn't make sense because fuel is strongly subsidised, but if you look at it for 25 years which is the lifetime of most of the renewable energy equipment; then yes it does make sense >>reporter: the government says it is in the process of removing these subsidies. >> rachid : today for 74% of our industry has zero subsidies in terms to energy and this is what islabeled to be heavy energy consumers like cement and steel and fertilizers and petrochemicals and

so on and these are industries that don't enjoy any subsidies at the moment; for the rest we have a plan that by the end of 2011 there will not be any subsidies left. >>zahran: there are talks now in government to remove the subsidies and this is definitely encouraging people to invest in it. it's no longer something futuristic. >>reporter: another area the government intends to promote renewables is by offering producers fixed tariffs for their power - essentially promising companies a fixed profit on the energy they produce. >> rachid : one of the most important laws is what is called the feed in law which guarantees and provides clarity for the producers how they can connect into the national grids and how they can get the rates and this exactly the law that's sitting in with the parliament at the moment but we are confident we will pass it. >>reporter: one day oil and gas will run out, and not just in egypt. there is

a direct correlation between the closer we reach that moment and the more focus being paid to renewable energy. it will play a significant role in powering the planet. it's only a matter of time. >>abirached: italy is sometimes included in the group of failing european economies along with portugal, greece, spain and ireland. but is this inclusion justified? italy is weathering the debt crisis better than many other eurozone economies, buoyed by strong exports and overseas business. this strength also looks set to get another boost, thanks to a novel business model tapping into increasing demand for italian products in emerging markets. >>reporter: if the ferrari racing car didn't shine at this year's abu dhabi grand prix, it certainly glitters at ferrari world, a new theme

park next to the track. >>this tourist attraction is an attempt by the emirate to diversify its economy away from natural resources. >>and is the same reason why an italian government mission made a recent visit -- bringing over 300 businesses and banks -- in pursuit of new opportunities. perhaps a bit later than other big europeaneconomies already tapping into emerging markets, italy is now making a major effort to increase trade and investment with the gulf. >>marcegaglia: the objective of the mission is to increase the trade between italy and the united arab emirates which is already five billion euros but we can do much more and also the objective is to raise the investments, italians here and the emirates in italy. >>reporter: the focus for brand italy has traditionally been sectors like fashion, food and furniture, but the country does have other strengths... >> basevi de alcubierre: made in italy is still very much appreciated, not only from the fashion point of view

but also from a technical point of view. >> romani: we are the second largest manufacturing country in europe. we are the fifth world economic system so we are obliged to look everywhere: to the east, to the west, to the north and to the south. >>reporter: a stagnant europe is forcing businesses to seek out destinations where there's economicgrowth from india to indonesia - as well as the middle east. >> lanna: there are important italian companies working here in abu dhabi to implement contract works such as three lane highways or the second line of the underground. this is because italy has a long tradition of innovating technologies and the capability of producing new manufacturing instruments.

>>reporter: and a history of dependence on exports, more vital than ever considering italy's growthof only 1.1 percent. the backbone of the economy is smes which give the country a breadth of skillsand economic stability, but often lack the sheer size to compete abroad. >> lanna: many italian smes have lots of difficulties, in terms of critical mass, to survive and compete in international markets. >>o'daly: the italian economy is hugely dependent on smes. the challenge for those companies is toexpand into dynamic emerging markets where the growth rates will be more sustained than in italy's traditional markets in western europe and the us. >>reporter: that's why the ministry for economic development, through simest, a development financeinstitution offers technical and financial support. acting as a combination of investment bank and export promotion agency it can take up to a 49

percent stake in an overseas italian company. it has approved more than 1000 projects; the total investment, including contributions from entrepreneurial stake holders has now reached 24 billion euros. >>d'aiuto: we have very important activity in participation in joint venture, also direct investmentabroad. we own participation with simest trough the capital, through the equity. we manage also a venture capital fund, a public venture capital fund. >>reporter: supporting firms like iguzzini, a 40 year old family run business specialising in high-end lighting with a 167 million euro turnover. five years ago it set up in china, with simest taking a 25 percent equity stake, allowing the firm to establish a production plant that now supplies the whole of asia.

>>guzzini: the company aimed at international market since the beginning. we wanted to be leader initaly but we also wanted to set up on international market because we knew that to be an industry we needed to have international recognition. >>reporter: from high-end manufacture, to haut-couture - kiton, an italian tailoring firm from naples, has now gone global with 30 overseas stores from just off saville row to seoul. the expansion inkorea in part funded by a significant investment from simest. .>>paone: you have to go all over the world just to be always up, because you may expect a crisis in a market and you are already well established in another market. >>subacchi: if you look at the fashion sector textile

we have a lot of very small companies, no house names because again there is no big money behind to engineer a huge marketing campaigns but they produce extremely good top of the range products. >>reporter: a good brand may work for small to medium enterprises at home, but expanding overseas in uncertain economic times takes a lot more investment -italy may have just come up with an interesting solution. >>abirached: still to come on world business... >>why one of the world's biggest food importers continues to heavily subsidize its inefficient farmers. >>and we meet the masters of crazy golf as they battle for the world >>championship title. >>small scale but still serious.... and the rest in just a moment on world business...

>>abirached: japan's agriculture sector accounts for a tiny fraction of the economy, yet has alwayswielded enormous clout over the japanese government. farm policy has in many ways been an unmitigated disaster for japan, and threatens to further hobble a country already entering its third decade of stagnation. >>reporter: tetsu nakajima runs a tiny rice shop in tokyo, that has been in his family for over half a century... >>... he mills the grain every day... brimming with pride as he handles a product regarded not only as quintessentially japanese - but even sacred... >>nakajima: rice does have special meaning to us. rice is god! the bounty of

the heavens, brought tous by human hands. >>reporter: that reverence has translated into unwavering political support for japan's rice lobby... farmers enjoy subsidies and steep barriers to all but a trickle of imports... >>...even so, the heavens have not been smiling on japan's antiquated and cloistered agriculture sector... >>kingston: about 60 pct of farmers are over 65. and about two-thirds of farmers are now part time. so you don't have many young fulltime farmers in japan. what you have are a lot of small, inefficient uncompetitive producers. >>craft: i am in kasumigaseki, the heart of japan's bureaucracy. behind me is japan's ministry ofagriculture... and right next door, japan's trade ministry. despite the geographical proximity, in terms of mind set the two

ministries couldn't be further apart. the farm bureaucracy says that undera free trade regime the japanese farmers would go extinct. the trade ministry bureaucrats says the entire economy is being held hostage to the interests of a farming sector that accounts for a mere one percent of national gdp. >>reporter: there is a heightened sense of urgency now... with seoul moving aggressively to sign regional free trade deals, japanese companies fear being left at a severe price disadvantage to their korean rivals. >>kingston: most experts realize that that what japan needs is to consolidate their farmers. too many lilliputian plots that are not efficient, not competitive, so if you want to improve efficiency and revitalize the japanese agricultural sector, you need to promote consolidation, large-scale farms, which would bring down price of production, and make j agric products cheaper at home, but also perhaps competitive in export markets.

>>reporter: experts say the quasi-governmental agri-cooperatives, known as ja, have blocked effortsto weed out part-timers, and have vested interests in supporting many small farms. >>honma: for ja, the matter is numbers, rather than agricultural strengthening. so they maintain membership, five million, to maintain numbers is first priority for them. >>reporter: even rice dealers like tetsu nakajima say japan's agricultural policy is killing farming... >>nakajima: the govt should stop protecting agriculture - lots of farmers think so, too. you just don't hear it on the news. >>reporter: analysts say protectionism is a relic of a distant era of food shortages... >>ohsawa: in the 1960s,

agriculture demand exceeded supply - whatever farmers grew, sold. but now the situation is reversed. so farmers need to be able to explain their selling points, and get customer feedback. that system doesn't exist now. but if it does, japanese agriculture would take off. >>reporter: ironically, japan's refusal to join free-trade pacts like the trans-pacific partnershipagreement, or tpp, is a bad deal even for the farmers it's supposed to be protecting... because millions of part time farmers earn most of their income from manufacturing jobs... >>honma: not only agricultural sector, but also industrial sector is sinking, declining. that meansfor the agricultural farmers, most of their income is coming from

non-agricultural sectors. so their income itself is reducing. if we are not catching up with tpp or fta, in world trade. >>reporter: rice distributors like nakajima see a better way... specially trained, he is a so-called rice "meister," and can wax eloquent on the subtle flavor notes between hundreds of varieties of white rice, which vary even from paddy to paddy... >>... he and others are confident that high-quality japanese rice can hold its own in a free market,here or overseas... the question is when politics will allow farmers a chance to do so. >>abirached: crazy golf, a once tired mainstay of the british seaside, is making a resurgence, withdozens of new courses opening up from seaside to city centre. as the craze continues to spread across

the globe, we catch up with some of the world's top pros at the crazy golf world championships. >>reporter: the "creme de la creme" of crazy golf battled it out on the hastings seafront. >>reporter: founded in 2003, the crazy golf world championships is a key fixture on the international minigolf calendar. where 54 of the world's top players compete for the $5000 prize fund on one ofthe world's toughest courses... >>reporter: and despite this little sport's small scale, it has a global reach. >>homer: it's always been very big in europe particularly in the northern european and scandinaviancountries, but you're seeing a lot of interest now in asia and the far east, so the china asian open is the first one

that is bringing players from all over the world. >>aho: in germany it is very popular, they estimate 20 million rounds are played per year by just normal people who go playing minigolf. they have some 5000 active tournament players. finland it's a little bit smaller we have about 200 players. >>reporter: the huge physical challenges not withstanding, it is a sport that is open to all. the czech republic's olivia prokobova has just returned as runner-up from the us masters: >>prokobova: i travel all over the world, usa, china, sweden, many, many country. >>reporter: great. all for minigolf? >>prokobova: yes. >>reporter: what's more, crazy golf is getting a much racier image these days, partly on account ofa huge upswing

in business. >>hartley: over the five years it's been a steady increase in numbers that started with the construction of the new adventure golf. the site has always been popular but since we've built the adventure golf it's taken on a new lease of life and our numbers since 2002 have probably gone up about 50%. >>reporter: even though developments like this new pirate themed course might cost a surprisingly large amount of money, projections of a further 20% increase should go a fair way to making it pay. >>richards: we know the site here, we know how good it is so were prepared to put a little more in,so the special effects on this site alone are going to be $190,000. the total investment here is going to be $6-700,000 for one 18 hole golf course as opposed to eight and a half for two. >>reporter: this development is just one of many such new openings over the last two

years: >>milns: crazy golf is as much a part of the fabric of the british seaside tradition as sticks of rock, fish and chips and fairground rides, but today it's new breed of adventure golf courses is not only drawing in new business, but new destinations as well. >>homer: we're seeing a lot of new indoor courses in some of the major cities, courses in birmingham, manchester, liverpool, glasgow, bristol. all of which have popped up in the last 12-18 months soa lot of new courses in bringing a lot of new people into the game. >>reporter: many of which have been built by adventure golf developments in partnership with leading us operator, castle golf. >>richards: we've done about 10 or 11 over here in the last three years we've been doing three complexes a year, two outdoor, one outdoor is what we've been averaging, with several lined up for next year so hopefully we'll be busy again through next year. >>reporter: judging by the return on investment that these courses are generating, that future looks assured.

>>richards: you are really looking at $7-$800,000 for a complete 36 hole set up. indoor sites can go a lot more than that because of all the air conditioning, sprinkler systems that are needed. that is a fair bit of investment to start with but most of the guys we've been doing it for are looking at about 18 months to 2 years return on it and they're doing quite good. >>reporter: indeed, the numbers are impressive. >>tomkins: if we are talking the middle of august, we've got three courses running, were going fullsteam and the weather is looking good, we can get anywhere up to 1500 players but i have to stress you that's in the middle of august when the schools are off... across the season as a whole we are looking at to 90 to 100,000 players. >>reporter: but enough of the everyday hackers - what does it take to be a crazy golf world champion? >>davies: it is being mentally prepared. fortunately i am mentally prepared, and knowing the course. the essential thing when you get the course and start playing is to play the correct weight of shot. that is the essence of all

putting in my mind. >>milns: to be a true crazy golf contender then that you've got to have 100% focus, nerves of steel, a steady pair of hands and more than a little bit of local knowledge. >>harding: you've got to come down a day or two before and do the research. this week we go aroundeach hole, we sort of map it so you know wherever you end up you are aiming left edge right edge. it saves you a few good shots on each round. >>reporter: wise words, and its advice that even the world's best golfers may like to ponder if they were ever to take up the gauntlet of a crazy golf challenge: >>hartley: we've laid out the challenge for tiger woods. he hasn't responded. we reckon that many of our players here in the tournament could take him on miniature golf. ... put some of our top miniature golf players against the likes of tiger woods and lee westwood will be a very

interesting concept, yeah. >>reporter: admittedly that's a long shot, but until then thousands of amateur crazy golfers will be putting [sic] in the practice, from city centres to windswept coasts. >>abirached: that's it for this week's world business. thanks for watching. we'll see you again at the same time next week. of the best of europe.

venice seems to be every italy connoisseur's... prague has always been beautiful... germany... the irish civilization...

the eiffel tower was built... hope you've enjoyed the magic of... on sunday mornings when i'm in paris, you're likely to find me here... [ pipe organ playing ] ...in the saint sulpice church with its magnificent pipe organ. for organ lovers, a visit here is a pilgrimage. after mass, organ enthusiasts from around the world scamper like sixteenth notes up the spiral stairs into a world of 7,000 pipes. before electricity, it took three men working out on these 18th-century stairmasters

to fill the bellows which powered the organ. the current organist, daniel roth, carries on the tradition of welcoming guests into the loft to enjoy his performance. a commotion of music-lovers crowd around a tower of five keyboards below a forest of pipes. saint sulpice has a rich history with a line of 12 world-class organists going back over 200 years. like kings or presidents, the lineage is charted on the wall. and overseeing all this: johann sebastian bach. [ pipe organ playing ] this music continues to fill the spiritual sails of saint sulpice as it has for centuries, and it's just another reason i consider paris