Maybe distance isn¡¯t so tyrannical after all. Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida liked to say that ¡°Ukraine today is Asia tomorrow,¡± a pointed reminder that distant events could well have local effects. The butterfly flapping its wings and such.

Implicit in that statement was also a warning that far-away goings-on might actually be linked to developments close to home. Recent events are driving that point home.

The notion of discrete spheres of regional affairs, in which the impact of local developments is restricted, has been eroding for decades. Globalization dictated that disruptions ¡°over there¡± would mess things up here.