Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday championed free trade amid rising protectionist sentiment in some parts of the world and agreed to step up cooperation in tackling new security challenges."Japan and Germany will closely work together to maintain and strengthen a free and open economic system," Abe said in a joint press conference after their talks in Tokyo.The meeting between the leaders of the world's third- and fourth-largest economies came on the heels of the entry into force Friday of a free trade agreement between Japan and the European U…READ FULL ARTICLE
