Prices have dropped slightly recently (late 2025.10), but compared to when this book was written (2025.3), the price of gold has nearly doubled. I think it was good not to stop the continuous pure gold reserve in the middle.
This book is co-authored by two people (Mr. Ikemizu and Mr. Ohashi) belonging to the Japan Precious Metals Market Association, and it was also written about the appeal of gold investment and why the price of gold has recently risen against common sense (gold falls when interest rates rise). It seems that one reason is that the number of countries that do not trust the US dollar is increasing.
As of now, the price of gold has risen, but it is expected that it will eventually remain high, so I was keenly aware that it is necessary to think about that time and think about what is optimal asset management.
Below are the points I was concerned about.
・The biggest reason why gold has risen is probably due to the fact that international capitalism based on democracy, which we have believed to be absolute until now, was clearly expressed by actions by people who no longer recognize it as absolute justice. The United States froze Russia's US dollar assets and used the dollar as a weapon of economic sanctions. China has also received economic sanctions from the US. For BRICS countries that saw this, the US dollar is no longer an asset but a liability, and the departure of these emerging countries from the dollar has been accelerated, and what they chose in place of the dollar is gold (p4)
・The position of gold changed drastically from 2022 to 2024, and in the past, when interest rates were high, the value of gold tended to decline. This is because if interest rates are high, it is reasonable to hold a currency that can receive interest rates. However, despite the fact that interest rates in the US and the rest of the world have risen drastically due to the inflationary phase since the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of our gold has declined or has continued to rise significantly (p18)
・Crypto assets cannot be used without electricity. If you don't have a power source, you can't make a payment, and you can't use it as currency. Gold, on the other hand, can be carried and bought and sold without electricity. Many people are beginning to notice the universal value of gold as a substance (p24)
・When it becomes a bird's-eye currency that cannot be exchanged for gold, when it comes to how to guarantee the value of that currency, for example, if it is an American dollar, it is impossible other than America's economic strength. In other words, it's about whether you can believe America's economic strength; if America's economic strength fluctuates, the value of the dollar will also fluctuate. Gold is currently in the spotlight because the value of the American dollar is fluctuating. (p29)
・When the economy stagnates, it has become normal to distribute banknotes to households as an economic stimulus measure, and an increase in currency circulation also means that the value of our currency falls, so intrusion into currency weakens. Therefore, the value of gold continues to rise (p31)
・The reason that supports America's dollar axis system is that it is used to trade international commodities, starting with crude oil. Additionally, the fact that America's gold holdings are overwhelmingly high at 8133 tons is also a factor supporting the dollar's pivotal system (p35)
・By weaponizing America or dollars, BRICS, in particular, China and Russia are selling more and more American government bonds held by both Russia and China from there, and they are buying gold with the money they sell (p37)
・ The 1990s were a time when America became the only hegemonic country in both name and reality. The Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989, the East and West were unified in 1990, and the end of the Cold War was declared at the base, and America became an invincible hegemon. In 1998, America's fiscal balance, which had continued to be in the red, also turned into a surplus. As a result, confidence in American government bonds and the key currency dollar rose, and gold sales and dollar purchases by the central bank of Oshu continued. This also caused a further slump in gold prices (p56)
・Due to the Washington Agreement, mining companies' gold futures sales were restricted, and our gold sales disappeared, and gold prices were raised (p63)
・Credit crunch occurred in the market due to the Lehman shock, market liquidity declined, and it fell into a situation where the economy stagnated and stock prices fell due to the cessation of credit creation such as lending, etc. Here, the Federal Reserve, which is the central bank of the United States, made a big decision, quantitative easing policies were adopted, in other words, the Fed literally increased liquidity by supplying funds to private financial institutions by purchasing international and securities etc. from the pillar Support was printed and supplied to the market (p67) Furthermore, due to the economic crisis caused by the middle of the year in 2020, central banks around the world scattered banknotes once again, and the value of the goal increased as money flooded the market in this way and the value of money fell (p69)
・The reason the Bank of Japan doesn't buy gold is because it absolutely has to buy American government bonds. If you sell American government bonds to increase gold, it will make America angry (p71)
・Policies such as trade policies such as raising import tariffs to other countries and measures against illegal immigration proposed by President Trump are accompanied by an expansion of fiscal expenditure, and tax cuts are also mentioned. The tax cuts that began during the first Trump administration will expire in 2025, but Mr. Trump says that these tax cuts will continue and become permanent. Then America will have to increase its national debt again (p82)
・Currently active in Japan (p) gold mines are overwhelmingly large because only the Hishikari Mine in Isa City, Kagoshima Prefecture (p99) has reserves of 250 tons, and the total amount of gold excavated from the Sado Gold Mine is 80 tons. Furthermore, 30 to 60 grams of pure gold is contained in 1 head of gold ore, and since the average content in the world is 3 to 5 g, the level is much higher, but the annual production volume is only about 4 tons (p100)
・There are 6,800 tons of gold, equivalent to 16% of the world's gold reserves, in urban mines in Japan. In terms of reserves, Japan's urban mines are by far the most numerous than in America (p104)
・Putting gold teeth or a catheter containing gold into the body is either gold a harmless substance, or since it hardly causes a chemical reaction, it oxidizes in our body and does not rust, in other words, it is harmless to the human body (p107)
・Normally, in an age where the dollar is high and the yen depreciates, the price of gold falls because dollars are bought, but gold is not sold and the price rises, a structural change is occurring. Furthermore, since Japan's policy interest rate is kept low compared to the dollar in the exchange market, the depreciation of yen continues, the price of yen denominated gold is affected by both the rise in dollar gold prices and the depreciation of the yen, showing a major rise that surpasses the dollar gold price (p140)
・American law was revised in 1974, and gold holding by individuals, which had been prohibited until now, was permitted, and individual investors began to buy gold thereafter (p148)
・Since trading and mining of crypto assets was completely banned in China in 2021, the only remaining investment destination is gold, and this is also a major reason why China's gold purchases grew significantly in 2024, and in particular, individuals are buying a lot of gold (p155)
・If gold is sold, it is regarded as transfer income, and is subject to comprehensive taxation together with other income, and inheritance is also subject to inherited assets. However, if the profit obtained by selling is 500,000 yen or less, it is tax-exempt due to a special deduction. Even if it exceeds 500,000 yen, only the portion that exceeds is taxable, and if the period of holding it exceeds 5 years, the taxable object is half of the portion over 500,000 yen. What is important is the amount obtained by subtracting the purchase price from the selling price when selling our gold, which is the receipt at the time of purchase. If there is no receipt, tax will be deemed to be on the selling price and 5% of the selling price will be collected (p188)
