Merkel to affirm global system in Japan

Berlin and Tokyo will move closer to defend the "multilateral order", on which the two big exporters' fortunes rest when German Chancellor Angela Merkel kicks off her two-day visit to Japan on Monday, observers said.

"As the world's third-and fourth-largest economies as well as big exporters, Japan and Germany are beneficiaries of free trade and multilateralism," said Yu Qiang, a researcher of Japan studies and an associate professor at the University of International Relations in Beijing, adding that the two countries had drawn closer amid US President Donald Trump's "America First" approach.

"We hope the chancellor's visit will send a message that Japan and Germany will actively contribute to the rule-based prosperity of the global economy, and further deepen bilateral cooperation and relations of trust," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference several days ago.