Foreign Minister Taro Kono agreed Wednesday with his German counterpart to promote free trade amid a rising protectionist tide, while supporting a rules-based international order. During talks in Tokyo, Kono and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stressed the importance of closer economic ties just days after the signing of a free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union. "The free, open and rules-based international order faces a serious challenge," Kono said during a joint press briefing with Maas. "Closer cooperation between Japan and Germany, (countries) that share the same values such as democracy, and lead Asia and Europe … is taking on greater importance than ever." The signing earlier this month of the free trade deal, which covers about a third of the world's economy, has been seen as symbolic of the concerted effort to counter the increasingly protectionist steps taken by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Japan and Germany may be sitting on a ticking demographic time bomb where aging populations begin to drag down economic growth. Increased automation and more use of robotic technology in these manufacturing powerhouses could help cushion the impact, according to Moody's Investors Service. "To the extent that robots can undertake activity that require labor, they will compensate for the negative impact that a slower growth in labor force would have otherwise had on growth," Moody's analysts wrote in the report this month. Dependency ratios -- the share of those older than 65 years of the total population -- are projected to soar in both Germany and Japan. But these countries have two things going for them.