These two Great Powers are against Trump's "America First" ideology of prioritizing his country's interests in all foreign policy and economic decisions instead of proverbially "taking one for the team" and sacrificing the US' interests for the so-called "greater good" of its supposed "allies" and the rest of the world. Abe and Merkel, however, are Liberal-Globalists who are ideologically opposed to Trump's Hyper-Realist view of International Relations, which explains why they're joining forces to thwart his global ambitions.

There are obvious limitations to what these two US-occupied countries can really do in this respect, but the fact that they signed a recent "Economic Partnership Agreement" (EPA) with one another that gives Germany and the rest of the EU a foothold in last year's Japanese-led "Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership" (CPTPP, or basically the TPP minus the US) shows just how much they're willing to defy the economic dimensions of Trump's "America First" vision. As for the geopolitical ones, Germany is proudly moving ahead with Nord Stream II despite fierce American resistance while Japan is engaged in talks with Russia over finally signing a peace treaty to end World War II.