Yes, No Progress

Superficially at least, it was a big advance over the last time Japanese Premier Kiichi Miyazawa met with an American President: there were no digestive mishaps, and by quoting the song Yes! We Have No Bananas, Miyazawa made light of Bill Clinton's remark to Boris Yeltsin that Japanese say yes when they mean no. As for substance, however, Clinton's first U.S.-Japanese summit did not mark much of a change in the relations between the two countries. "Let's not paper this over," said Clinton. "There are differences still between the Prime Minister and me." Japanese markets, he insisted, "must be more open."

Miyazawa, standing nearby, didn't flinch. As expected, he suggested that a piece of his government's recent $116 billion stimulus package would end up paying for American-made goods (Clinton seemed underwhelmed), but he stood firm against "managed trade." Whether or not the two leaders really thought they could reduce America's $49 billion trade deficit with Japan harmoniously, they did promise to come up with a detailed plan to do so within three months. Of course, with the troubles Miyazawa's party is having at home, he may not be around that long.