・Over 99% of the world's communications are exchanged through optical fiber cables laid at the bottom of the ocean, so-called undersea cables. The internet we usually use casually is supported by an invisible infrastructure called a cable that physically passes through revisions (p4)
・It may seem difficult when you hear geopolitics, but its essence is a simple story where “geographical conditions influence people's lives.” From a geopolitical point of view, the personality and ideology of individual leaders is only the second factor that determines the behavior of a nation, and what really determines the behavior of a major power is “physical conditions = terrain where that country is placed” (p7)
・Russia conquered port cities such as Mariupol in southern Ukraine due to the invasion and effectively turned the Sea of Azov into Russia's inland sea, thus completing a land supply route to Crimea (p30)
・China has become the second largest economy in the world and is building strong naval power, but there is a problem that cannot be solved by any means is that “there is no exit to the sea,” and I can understand why they are obsessed with Taiwan, the Senkaku Islands, and the South China Sea (p52) When the Chinese infection is about to enter the Pacific Ocean, it is necessary to pass through the Miyako Strait between the main island of Okinawa and Miyako Island, the Bashi Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines, and the Osumi Strait of Kagoshima There is (p54)
・The price of self-destruct drones used by Iran's armed groups and the Houthis is about 3 million yen per aircraft, the missiles used by the US Navy to handle this are said to be 300 million yen, and the latest ones are said to be 700 million yen; this asymmetry in cost is the horror of asymmetric warfare (p89)
・Determining whether one is right or wrong is not on the side of geopolitics; what tells me about geopolitics is the geographical structure surrounding the question “why are both sides forced to act like that” (p107)
・The Black Sea has fatal geopolitical characteristics, the outer sea = there is only one exit to exit to the Mediterranean Sea, the Bosphorus Strait and the Dartness Strait, the Black Sea becomes a huge cul-de-sac if this narrow waterway managed by Turkey becomes clogged; what was symbolic was the sinking of the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship “Moscow” in 2022/4, the largest warship that was sunk after World War II, and Russia's pride as the ruler of the Sea disappeared That (p123)
・The real purpose of American Admiral Perry coming to Japan was not to occupy Japan, but rather “coal” as fuel for ships to be refilled at relay points to go to China and “water and food” for whaling ship crews (p148)
・In order for Japan to protect its independence, foreign currency was necessary to buy warships and artillery, and what saved Japan, which had no resources, was silk = raw silk. In Europe, sickness of dismissal was prevalent and the sericulture industry was annihilated, so high-quality Japanese raw silk was sold like flying, and this became a source of funding for Japan's modernization (p149)
・The scariest thing for England was that Japan became Russia's; if Japan became Russia's military base, the battle for hegemony over China and India, which are British treasures, would be threatened. Therefore, England thought it would be better to strengthen Japan and make it a bulwark to Russia rather than weaken Japan by colonizing it (p150)
・For Russia, the Sea of Okhotsk is a backyard where nuclear submarines loaded with nuclear missiles capable of attacking the American mainland are hidden and they definitely don't want to be invaded, and what is the entrance to it is the northern territories such as Kunashiri Island and Etorofu Island. Giving this to Japan is like handing over the keys to the back door of one's home to an enemy, and it is an impossible option due to Russia's nuclear strategy (p158)
・Minami-Torishima is an island located at the easternmost tip of Japan, and it is a flat island with a triangular shape with a side of about 2 km, but by the existence of this island, Japan can secure a huge exclusive economic zone of about 430,000 square kilometers, which exceeds the land area around it (p179) Minami Torishima mud has a geological miracle characteristic that it contains rare “heavy rare earths,” and it contains almost no radioactive substances like Chinese mines, so it is an environment gentle (p184)
・Semiconductors used to be called “industrial rice,” meaning basic foodstuffs that are cheap like rice, convenient if found anywhere, but the strategic meaning is weak, but the current name changed in the 21st century, “modern petroleum,” which is where semiconductors stand today. Just as tanks and airplanes don't move without petroleum, smartphones, generative AI, and cutting-edge missiles hardly work without semiconductors. Securing semiconductors has become national security itself (p191)
・Japan has a low market share of finished semiconductor products, but Japanese companies have an overwhelming market share in equipment and special chemicals for manufacturing semiconductors. For example, Japanese companies have almost a monopoly on photoresists = special agents for burning silicon wafers and circuits (p199)
・Japan has crude oil reserves for about 254 days, but LNG reserves for only about 2 weeks. Japan relies on thermal power generation for most of its electricity, and if LNG ships don't come, a power outage will occur immediately (p207)
