EU and Japan must stand together to defend economic order

As economic powerhouses and beneficiaries of a rules-based international order, the European Union and Japan face a dual challenge: having to work with the U.S. in reducing unfair Chinese trade practices, whilst also sharing the objective of taming Trump's assault on multilateralism and the rules-based system.

Both challenges have brought the EU and Japan closer together, as will be highlighted on Feb. 4, when German chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in Tokyo on a two-day official visit.