I posted a comment showing that silver was selling for roughly $130 in Japan. The next thing I know, I’m seeing headlines from numerous sources worldwide parroting this information without understanding the underlying basis. Since these headlines are still making the rounds, I thought–as the original poster–I should provide some context that those outside of Japan might not understand. Please note that I am not a silver dealer nor am I affiliated with the Japanese silver dealers I will mention herein. Explanatory links in the article body are provided for informational purposes only, not as promotion or stealth marketing.
The Post that Started It All & My Comment
Honza Černý posted about Korean silver prices as follows:
On a more private account where I do not want followers (follow https://x.com/necroliciouseng instead), I posted the following comment:
Please further note that I have actually rounded the total price down a bit because there is a 220 yen shipping fee on top of the price of the silver. This further does not account for currency exchange fees in the event that this is purchased using a non-Japanese credit card. All accounted for, everything is roughly $130 as I stated.
I just wanted to provide some additional context since Korea is a neighbour. I didn’t expect this off-hand comments to get a single like or gain any traction at all but it unexpectedly blew up–gaining nearly 200,000 views already & inspiring headlines worldwide.
Netizens Scream Fake, But is It True?
While headlines run rampant, silver influencers & no name crypto-bro accounts alike are screaming fake.
Firstly, is it true? It absolutely is true. Here is a direct link to this listing that anyone can verify. Note that, as with all silver listings everywhere, the price will be manually adjusted by the seller as they see fit based on market fluctuations. The price you see now upon checking the link may be higher or lower than when I screenshotted it.
While bitter crypto-bros are baselessly screaming fake on priciple alone. Silver influencers, including Bruce Ikemizu & James Anderson, alike are also getting this wrong.
They claim that this is a secondary seller an a secondary marketplace where anybody can price anything as they please & they are assuming this is just a random guy seeking exorbitant profits.
This is I believe where they are mistaken, simply due to not having reviewed the actual link directly as well as having no understanding of the policies which the marketplace has.
Who is the Seller?
There are indeed unverified sellers selling silver for higher prices & lower prices than what I commented but, again, they are not verified as Mercari Shop sellers. The seller of this silver round is ゴールド市場ドットコム (translation: Gold Marketplace). This is not some random fly-by-night greedy individual pricing things wantonly in order to fool people for unwarranted profit. This is one of the most widely recognized precious metal dealers in Japan. As an official affiliate of Scottsdale Mint, when I contacted Scottsdale Mint to get some limited edition pieces, this is who Scottsdale Mint directed me to contact.
Apart from their shop on Mercari, they have their own official website: https://gold-ichiba.com/en/.
Compare & contrast the pricing from their website to the pricing on Mercari, & you’ll notice a disconnect.
This is because Mercari charges a 10% transaction fee to sellers. In order to compensate for that fee, ゴールド市場 bullion prices on Mercari are likewise raised by 10%.
Japanese market spot price may be near US spot price, but when it comes to actual retail, there is a 10% consumption tax as well as a 10% platform fee & we haven’t even accounted for profits yet!
Despite what may be described as extra premiums on top of already expensive silver, they seem to be moving more silver on Mercari than their official website.
Why?
This is conjecture on my part, but I assume that this is because anybody can buy on Mercari, whereas a purchase direct from their website has only one possible payment method: bank transfer. Therefore, if you are not a Japanese resident–a requirement to open a Japanese bank account–there is no possibility for you to make a bullion purchase directly from the ゴールド市場 website (or any other bullion dealer that I am aware of). If you want to purchase using a credit card, convenience store payment or cash on delivery, Mercari & similar resale platforms are therefore your only options whether you are a resident of Japan or not. This is not all that strange considering that the price spread on even western bullion dealers is dramatically different when the payment method is check vs cryptocurrency vs credit card.
Arbitrage Trap
So now we’ve established how & why silver has a running price of about $130 in Japan. The sheer number had many looking for arbitrage profits foaming at the mouth, but I don’t think that will work out for 99.9% of the people who were speaking about it.
Again, if you are not a resident of Japan, you cannot open a Japanese bank account.
If you are not a resident of Japan, you cannot submit the government-issued Japanese ID necessary to withdraw money from a Mercari account into your Japanese bank account. It will remain on platform where you can only use it to purchase other things. If your goal is to purchase more silver, you will actually come out of this at a further loss since the prices & premiums are higher than where you are coming from.
I am aware of no bullion dealer that will buy any amount of bullion from anybody without government-issued Japanese ID. Even if you were able to sell to a Japanese bullion dealer directly, they are offering lower than retail price.
As seen here: https://www.material.co.jp/market.php.
I do not know why they have not updated this list since December 26, 2025, but let’s go with it:
Start with the given price: 402.05 JPY/gram.
Use the precise conversion factor: 1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 grams.
402.05 × 31.1034768: First, 402.05 × 31 = 12,463.55
Then, 402.05 × 0.1034768 ≈ 41.60
Total ≈ 12,505.15 JPY
12,505.15 JPY is approximately $79.80 USD as of January 2, 2026.
& there you have it. The majority of your arbitrage has just disappeared. You are out of flight & accommodation money, not to mention currency exchange fees, meaning you have likely come out of all this at a loss.
What If I’m Already in Japan?
Some have pointed out that Apmex ships to Japan. You’re still likely to see little, if any, profit in this scenario.
This is because there is a minimum shipping fee of $50 USD. Additionally, you will be assessed a 10% consumption tax on the total value of your purchase, which you must pay the mailman upon delivery or they will not give you your package.
The only scenario I can see in which an arbitrage opportunity actually exists is if a resident of Japan personally makes a physical trip outside of the country to pick up bullion to sell upon return. However, even then they must account for flight, accommodations, food, etc. & depending on this person’s employment, they may be subject to additional taxes on the bullion at customs. Furthermore, 10% of any transaction on Mercari or other site is going directly to the platform, not that person’s pockets. Mercari & other platforms offer introductory deals where perhaps your initial sale is not subject to their 10% fee but, without a solid reputation established, you are unlikely to make that sale in the first place because nobody wants to risk buying fake bullion from an unknown seller.
In closing. Yes, silver is retailing for over $130 with units moving at that price. In Japan.
This is not some greedy seller artificially hiking the price. It is a well known & respected Japanese bullion dealer merely accounting for platform fees.
Anybody outside of Japan seeking to leverage this opportunity to arbitrage is unlikely to find success in doing so.
I hope this information has helped set the record straight for everyone involved. I firmly believe silver is headed much higher & the squeeze is only just beginning. In the near future, we may look back at today’s prices & wish silver were still only $130. That said, as an individual—& specifically the one partly responsible for the “$130 Silver in Japan” headlines that have circulated—I wanted to offer some accountability & clarification. This experience also highlights exactly why I distrust the AI-generated “Asian Guy” silver influencer. As a fabricated entity, it can provide no such accountability. Anyone can replicate such that AI avatar to make it say whatever they want. Moreover, this “Asian Guy” operates through countless accounts, with the creator(s?) somehow proudly claiming ownership of them all. I don’t understand how anyone could place genuine trust in such a construct. I strongly advise caution: the kind of personal accountability I’ve just provided is simply impossible from an easily replicable, anonymous AI account.
I’m not a financial advisor & this is not financial advice, I’m just heavily invested in silver.
As I stated, I am not affiliated with the Japanese bullion dealers or listings above, but if you want to start investing in precious metals & want a FREE half-ounce of silver, sign up for Kinesis using my link!
