A Japanese manga speaks of a “royal catastrophe”. A medium predicts mass destruction. A Feng Shui master advises people to avoid certain regions.
It sounds like a disaster movie script, but this kind of “prediction” about earthquakes worries the tourism industry in Japan. Tourists, especially from East Asian countries, have canceled or postponed their trips for Fear of a possible tragedy .
Sismologists have warned several times that predicting earthquakes accurately is virtually impossible. Nevertheless, Japan, which has a solid history of resistance to seismic shaking, lives with the constant risk of intense tremors – something incorporated into the routine of the population.
But the fear of a “great earthquake”, amplified by seers and social networks, is scaring some travelers. And the main reason seems to be a comic.
The manga “The Future I saw”, released in 1999 by artist Ryo Tatsuki, Predicted a great disaster in March 2011 – Exactly the month of the devastating earthquake that hit the region of Tohoku in northern Japan.
In 2021, the author launched a full version of the work, in which he states that the Next large earthquake will take place in July this year.
Parallel, mediums from Japan and Hong Kong made similar forecasts generating unfounded panic on networks and a wave of travel cancellations in various Asian countries.
CN YUEN director of Hong Kong -based WWPKG travel agency, said reserves for Japan have been halving Easter holiday and should decrease even more over the next two months.
According to him, most cancellations come from mainland China and Hong Kong – respectively, the second and fourth largest tourist broadcasters for Japan. But the fear has also spread to countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, where social networks and videos on social networks warn against Japan.
According to Yuen, these concerns are so rooted that “people simply say they will postpone the trip for now.”
How are the predictions?
Japan is a country used to severe earthquakes, being located in the Pacific Fire circle – an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity.
The fear of a “great earthquake” gained strength after a statement from the Japanese government in January, warning of a chance of 80% of a severe tremor to reach the nankai pit region in the south of the country in the next 30 years. Some seismologists, however, questioned the accuracy of this data.
Tatsuki’s work has many eastern Asian fans who believe she can predict the future through dreams.
In the manga, she portrays as a character and shares with other characters the visions she has as sleep – some of them coincide, unsettivatingly, with real events.
The “forecast” of the 2011 earthquake – or coincidence – made Tatsuki famous not only in Japan, but also in countries such as Thailand and China. According to the publisher, The manga sold 900 thousand copies and was also published in Chinese.
Fans believe she also predicted the death of Princess Diana, Freddie Mercury’s death and Covid-19 pandemic. Critics, on the other hand, claim that their predictions are too vague to be taken seriously.
On the cover of the manga reads “great disaster in March 2011”, which made many believe that it would have anticipated the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit Tohoku-the same that caused the tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people and led to the nuclear tragedy of Fukushima, the worst atomic accident since Chernobyl.
In the latest version, “The Future I saw – Full Version,” Tatsuki says that on July 5 this year A slit will open in the bottom of the sea between Japan and the Philippines generating waves three times larger than those of Tsunami 2011.
Recently questioned about the cancellations of travel motivated by her predictions, she responded to the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun that she “very positively” sees the fact that her work makes people more prepared for disasters.
However, he asked that they do not be too carried out for their dreams and that they act rationally, based on the science and guidelines of the experts.
She is not the only one to predict disasters. Chinese media has released the forecasts of a supposed Japanese seer who said a strong earthquake would hit the Tokyo Bay area on April 26. The date passed without incidents, but the forecast had huge repercussion on Chinese networks.
Feng Shui Master Qi Xian Yu, famous in Hong Kong and known as Master Seven, also advised people to avoid Japan from April .
Faced with speculation, the Japan office office published at X (former Twitter) earlier this month, a warning: current technology is not able to accurately predict earthquakes.
Yoshihiro murai Governor of Miyagi Province – one of the hardest hit in 2011 – also criticized the spread of superstitions on networks and their impact on Japanese tourism. “It’s a serious problem when highly anticientific rumors on social networks affect the tourist sector,” he said at a press conference.
Is there a “prophecy effect”?
Despite the avalanche of information on the networks, it is still unclear whether this alarmism is really driving away the tourists – Japan remains one of the most sought after destinations in the world .
The Yoga Instructor Samantha Tang 34, resident of Hong Kong, is one of those who decided to postpone the trip. She planned to visit Wakayama, south of Osaka in August, but gave up for fear.
“Everyone talks about this earthquake that is about to happen,” she said, who visits Japan at least once a year since the end of the pandemic.
Another Hong Kong traveler, Oscar Chu 36, who usually goes to Japan several times a year, also decided to change the plans this time. “Better avoid. If an earthquake really happens, it will be a huge disorder,” he explained. He is not so afraid of tremor in himself, but of the possible consequences in transport and flights.
Still, many tourists remain firm in their plans. According to the National Tourism Organization of Japan, the country received 10.5 million visitors in the first three months of 2025 – a historic record.
Of the total, 2.36 million came from mainland China, an increase of 78% over the same period of the previous year. Already Hong Kong sent about 647 thousand tourists, an annual growth of 3.9%. And these numbers refer only to the east Asian.
In March, Japan also received 343,000 US visitors, 68,000 from Canada and 85,000 from Australia.
VIC Shing From Hong Kong, it is one of those who kept the plans. Even knowing the “prophecy”, he decided to continue with the trip to Tokyo and Osaka in June.
“The earthquake forecasts have never been reliable,” he said. “Even if it happens, Japan has faced several huge earthquakes. They know how to deal with this kind of situation.”
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Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
