A Summit of Substance

Call it the summit of good feelings. As the leaders of the seven major industrial democracies concluded their twelfth annual economic conference in Tokyo last week, their assessments of the meeting went beyond the typical rote claims of harmony. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone declared that the conference "reaffirmed mutual understanding and trust between us." British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher uttered a hearty "mission accomplished." Even that perennial summit spoilsport, French President Francois Mitterrand, exulted that the meeting was "the most relaxed" he had experienced. Said the most triumphant of the summiteers, Ronald Reagan: "It's no exaggeration to describe the Tokyo...