Arab News Japan

TOKYO: A Japanese comic book warning of a “real catastrophe” set to hit Japan this July has tourists rethinking their vacation plans.

Originally published in 1999, the manga ‘The Future I Saw’ by Ryo Tatsuki first warned of a natural disaster in 2011 – which ultimately materialized as an earthquake in Japan’s northern Tohoku region that year.

In her “completed version” published in 2021, Tatsuki unveiled a new premonition: Japan will be hit by a major earthquake this July.

Adding fuel to the fire, other psychics in Japan and Hong Kong share the same belief.

On top of all this,  the fact that Japan lies on the Ring of Fire makes it especially prone to intense seismic and volcanic activity.

All of this has led to a wave of cancellations among tourists, particularly those from East Asia, according to CNN.

CN Yuen, managing director of WWPKG, a travel agency in Hong Kong, said bookings to Japan dropped by half during the Easter holiday and are expected to decline further in the coming months.

The claims have mainly deterred travelers from Hong Kong and mainland China – Japan’s fourth- and second-largest sources of tourists, respectively.

For many East Asian fans of Tatsuki, her work is not viewed as mere prophecy – they often believe she can accurately predict the future.

That belief was cemented by her 2011 prediction of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake, which made her a household name not only in Japan but across East Asia.

Mainichi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, reported last week that Tatsuki urged tourists not to be “overly swayed” by her dreams and to “act appropriately based on expert opinions.”

Accordingly, Japan’s Cabinet Office posted on X that even modern technology cannot accurately predict earthquakes.

地震について
　日時と場所を特定して地震を予知することは、現在の科学的知見からは困難ですので、いつ発生してもおかしくない地震に対し、避難場所や避難経路の確認、家具の固定など日頃からの備えを行うとともに、揺れを感じたり津波警報等が発表されたら直ちに避難するよう、お願いいたします。

— 内閣府防災 (@CAO_BOUSAI) April 24, 2025

Still, Japan remains a bustling tourist destination for many.

In the first quarter of this year, 2.83 million tourists from mainland China visited Japan – a 78% increase, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Not to mention the steady influx of hundreds of thousands of tourists from the US, Australia, and Canada.