Japan's retail gold price surged to a record 21,632 yen (about 142 U.S. dollars) per gram on Tuesday, reflecting a weaker yen and growing global uncertainties.
The soaring price has fueled brisk trading, with long queues forming outside gold retailers as consumers rush to buy or sell.
In Tokyo, citizens expressed strong interest in gold as both a safe haven and a store of value.
"Gold holds value better than cash amid the inflation. Gold supply is limited, and under the current international situation, it feels better to own gold from a future perspective," said a Tokyo citizen.
"I might consider buying if the price drops a little. But with gold at a record high, I think about selling the gold I have at home," another resident said.
A Tokyo gold shop employee said customer traffic has nearly doubled from last year, with both sales and recycling volumes up sharply. Many buyers are choosing bars and ingots rather than jewelry such as rings or necklaces.
"Today, a customer has already ordered eight 25-gram bars, totaling 200 grams, for 4.3 million yen (about 28,200 U.S. dollars). Due to rising distrust in the U.S. dollar, people are selling dollars and coming to buy gold," the employee said.
Analysts noted that the sharp fall of the yen has driven gold prices higher in yen terms.
On Tuesday, the Japanese currency slid below 152 yen per dollar, its weakest level in eight months, amid market expectations that ruling Liberal Democratic Party's new leader Sanae Takaichi will adopt expansionary fiscal policies.
At the same time, mounting concerns over the ongoing U.S. government shutdown and global geopolitical tensions have pushed investors toward gold as a safe-haven asset.
Data showed Japan's retail gold price has risen about 40 percent since the beginning of the year, doubling compared with two years ago.
Gold prices in Japan hit record high as yen weakens
Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza has hailed China as a strong supporter and partner of the organization in the fight against fraud.
Urquiza praised China for its efforts on the sidelines of the Inaugural Conference of the International Alliance Combating Telecom and Cyber Fraud, which was held in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Thursday.
At the conference, the China-initiated international alliance aimed at countering cross-border telecom and cyber fraud was established.
Interpol, formally known as the International Criminal Police Organization, is the world's largest international police organization, and has 196 member countries, aiming to help police in all of them to work together to make the world a safer place.
Noting that fraud and cyber-related crimes have become the priority for member countries of Interpol around the globe, Urquiza said initiatives such as the alliance are key on the fight against those threats, while describing the alliance as a "very good step."
Speaking of cooperation between China and Interpol, Urquiza highlighted China's notable contribution to fighting fraud-related crimes in recent years.
"China has been a strong supporter and partner of Interpol for the past years, especially in the fight against fraud. We have partnered with China a couple of years ago to enhance the efforts on building capacity and coordinating operational activities to fight crimes related to fraud," he told China Global Television Network (CGTN).
"With that, we establish an operation that is called the First Light Operation, which is one of the main areas of work of Interpol on the fight against fraud. Under this operation, we have been able to arrest more than 11,000 criminals that were operating fraud schemes and we have been able to locate and seize more than 600 million dollars that were related to criminal activities on fraud," said Urquiza.
Interpol chief hails China as strong supporter, partner in fighting fraud
