・Countries around the world abide by the same rules and increase relationships of trust, and the farther the risk of war, the less important geography becomes. It is the “globalized” world that has rules in place that make it possible to live the same life anywhere as long as there is money, and it is not important in which country “things” were produced there. This was one reason why the manufacturing industry, which is the receptacle for many jobs, moved from developed countries to emerging countries such as China (p15)
・In this book, I will elucidate geopolitical issues that are difficult to understand in normal news reports using the three pillars of “geography,” “international community system including politics,” and “time” (p16)
・One characteristic of land power countries is that they are difficult to democratize. This is because continental nations have many nationalities, religions, and languages within the country, and historically have repeated wars with neighboring countries connected by land, (p26)
・If China unifies Taiwan, what will happen to our neighboring countries, and the activities of the middle class American military will become difficult in Japan and South Korea. In that case, America may change defense lines east of the 2nd Archipelago Line. This means that Japan and South Korea will be able to enter China's sphere of influence, or that they will have to counter China on their own; if it is a public corporation, military spending and military lineup will have to rapidly expand in order to counter China (p41)
・The reason why the Bashi Strait near Taiwan is important is that the C lane for crude oil and LNG ships heading to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and eastern China passes through. The depth here is as deep as 4000 meters, and since it is a valuable place that is difficult for Chinese nuclear submarines to be detected when entering and leaving the Pacific Ocean, many international accounting cables also pass through this strait (p48)
・The fact that the number of people who have experienced the colonial period has decreased 80 years after the war is also a factor that cannot be ignored; history education condemning Japan's colonial rule continues in Korea, but the weight is very different between learning at school and direct negative experiences (p60)
・What we learned in the Ukraine war is that when attacked by a large number of drones all at once, it becomes impossible to handle it with interceptor missiles such as the Patriots, etc., and it also became clear that industrial power and supply networks that can mass-produce drones and shells are essential for war (p65) There is also an estimate that 7-80% of the results from attacks by both countries' forces are brought about by drones (p199)
・As a background to the prolonged war between Ukraine and Russia, there is also the fact that Mr. Putin denies his national identity as a Ukrainian. The nature of Russia's current invasion is different from a normal conflict in that the invading side does not recognize the opponent's national character at all. The reason why Ukraine, which is inferior in national strength, continues an amazing resistance war against Russia is that there is a sense of backlash against enemies who want to erase their home country and their own way of being (p96)
・Since ancient times, the European continent has had an unfavorable terrain for protection from foreign enemies, and since flatland accounts for more than half of the continent, armies can move relatively easily. It means that cavalry, who were the main force of the military until the early modern times, progressed easily (p98)
・Due to the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian economy has shifted to a model supported by military demand such as weapons production, etc., and military-related matters have expanded to account for 40% of Russia's national budget, and it is expected that a serious regular slump will occur if military demand decreases due to a cease-fire. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of standby soldiers will also occur after the cease-fire, and these two have caused the collapse of the Soviet Union in the past (p112)
・The United Nations gave five major powers such as America the right to veto the Security Council, and this was to prevent the failure of the League of Nations before the war, which became famous and innocent due to the withdrawal of major powers. Even if major powers are hostile, a place to discuss is secured, and if a place where they can discuss is secured, war (p157)
・In Saudi Arabia, the king has absolute power, but in reality, arbitrary dictatorship is not permitted, and consensus building through blood relationships and tribal networks is more rooted than the democratic idea that “individuals have an equal vote” (p171)
・ In 2025, Prime Minister Akitaka met for the first time with Mr. Trump, who visited Japan, and showed off the strengthening of the alliance, and beyond most expectations, Mr. Trump's response to Prime Minister Takaichi was favorable. One reason for this is the fact that Prime Minister Abe's wife is extremely close to President Trump's Mrs. Melania (p176)
・In 2024, North Korea dispatched more than 10,000 reinforcements to the Russian army fighting the Ukrainian army, and as a result, Russia recognized North Korea as an equal ally, and succeeded in obtaining military technology such as drones and a lot of funds (p228)
・ According to NASA, the Earth's sea level in 2024 has risen by 10 cm or more compared to about 30 years ago. It is caused by melting ice sheets and glaciers, and thermal expansion of seawater (p238)
