Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed Monday that Japan and Europe should work together with the United States to promote free trade.

"At a time when a protectionist movement is growing in the world, Japan and Europe must cooperate with the United States to continue to fly the flag of free trade," Abe said at a joint press conference after their talks in Hanover.

Abe said he and Merkel agreed to continue to work in coordination toward a broad conclusion of free trade negotiations underway between Japan and the European Union.