The external relations of both Japan and the European Union have traditionally been dominated by economic matters. The reliance of their economies on foreign trade and investment also has a strong security dimension, given that threats to their position in the global economy are likely to have serious repercussions for their growth, their prosperity and ultimately also their security. This chapter finds that, despite a chequered history, EU–Japan relations have strengthened in recent years against the background of a global climate that has been growing more hostile to the kind of liberal trade and multilateralism that both sides favour. The rise of China – and the dangers that a dependence on this market imply – are common concerns for Japan and the EU, but more recently the changes in US foreign policy, in particular President Trump’s withdrawal from transatlantic and trans-pacific trade agreements, have changed the geopolitical landscape fundamentally. Without American leadership of the liberal economic order, there is now greater urgency for the EU and Japan to cooperate in order to ensure their economic security, both bilaterally and in multilateral arenas. The EU–Japan Free Trade Agreement that of 2018 is a strong sign of this convergence in European and Japanese attitudes to economic security.