Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday 20 March in Hanover, renewing calls to finalise negotiations on a EU-Japan free trade accord and defending open and fair trade. The meeting, on the occasion of the opening of the CeBIT digital trade show for which Japan is this year’s partner country, came on the first leg of a four-day European tour that also saw Abe meet with leaders in France, Italy, and the seat of the European Union in Belgium. Abe, Merkel tout “free trade” commitment How to address the growing debate over what constitutes “free trade” and “fair trade,” particularly in a context of changing political leadership in key economies and a parallel rise in anti-globalisation sentiment, was one of the topics on the docket for the Abe-Merkel meeting. "Japan, having benefited in abundance from the benefits of free trade and investment, wants to be the champion upholding open systems alongside Germany," Prime Minister Abe told reporters after meeting with Merkel. “To do so it will be necessary to have rules that are fair and can stand up to democratic appraisal,” the Japanese leader added. "At a time when we are being forced to...