The German chancellor's fifth visit to Japan began on Monday, three days after a free trade pact came into effect between the country and the European Union.
On a tight schedule, Merkel was received with military honors and held talks with Abe at his official residence. Speaking after the pair met, Merkel hailed the free trade agreement as "an important message to the world."
Merkel said the talks had been "between two national leaders who want to work together, who believe that there can be very good win-win situations when all partners work together".
The chancellor said the agreement showed "that we are prepared to make agreements -- even if multilateral agreements are to some extent in choppy waters". Abe underlined that point, saying Merkel’s visit — so soon after the pact came into effect — had a "powerful" significance.
As major exporters, being the world's third and fourth largest economies respectively, Japan and Germany are keen to preserve free trade on a wider basis.