Shinzo Abe was assassinated by a shooter wielding a homemade gun in the city of Nara.

If someone had asked me to come up with a million predictions about Japan, that statement would still not have been remotely close to crossing my mind.

It¡¯s shocking news, but it is important to recognize that this shock extends well beyond the mere loss of a human life ¡ª even one as famous as Abe¡¯s.