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In 1999, manga artist Ryo Tatsuki published "The Future I Saw." The manga warned of a major disaster in March 2011, coinciding with the devastating earthquake that struck Tohoku in northern Japan that month, which triggered a "black tsunami" in Tosa Bay, Kochi Prefecture.
The artwork "The Future I Saw," published in 1999 by artist Ryo Tatsuki, contains a warning about a major disaster that occurred in March 2011, coinciding with the earthquake in the Tohoku region of northern Japan.
In the next installment of the series, released in 2021, the author predicted an earthquake would occur on July 5th of this year, caused by a crack in the seabed between Japan and the Philippines, potentially generating a tsunami three times stronger than the Tohoku disaster.
Tatsuki's works primarily attract readers in East Asia. Fans believe she has the ability to foresee the future through dreams. The artist has even drawn animated versions of herself and narrated stories based on her dreams. Remarkably, some of these stories coincide with real-life events.
The "full version" of the book, published in 2021, mentions another major earthquake occurring this July.
Tatsuki began to gain recognition not only in Japan but also in other Asian countries such as Thailand and China, after her 1999 novel, "The Great Disaster of March 2011," was said to have accurately predicted the earthquake that occurred that year. The earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people, disrupted the operation of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and caused the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The author translated the novel into Chinese and sold 900,000 copies.
The idea that a book or story predicts a disaster might seem like something entirely fictional. However, for the Japanese tourism industry, the impact of such content is tangible. Unfounded fears of an impending disaster lead some tourists to cancel previously planned trips to Japan.
This rumor has somewhat affected tourism in Japan.
Hong Kong feng shui expert and television actor Qi Xian Yu, nicknamed Master Seven, urged people to limit travel to Japan starting in April of this year. Several Japanese and Hong Kong psychics also issued similar warnings, despite a lack of evidence. These rumors spread, causing tourists from China and Hong Kong – Japan's second and fourth largest source markets – to cancel tours en masse. Social media platforms were also flooded with posts warning about traveling to Japan.
CN Yuen, CEO of WWPKG, a Hong Kong-based travel company, said that bookings to Japan had halved during the Easter holiday and are expected to decline further in the next two months.
Due to fear and anxiety, many tourists have canceled their trips to this area this July.
According to CNN, speculation stemming from the comic book has caused widespread fear among tourists from mainland China and Hong Kong – Japan's second and fourth largest sources of tourists, respectively. This fear has also spread to other markets such as Thailand and Vietnam, where social media platforms are flooded with posts and videos warning people to think twice before traveling to Japan.
Global media reports indicate that Japan is no stranger to severe earthquakes. This is due to its location on the Ring of Fire – an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. However, coupled with the prophecy in the comic book, fears of a major earthquake intensified in January of this year, after the Japanese government warned that there was an 80% chance of a severe earthquake occurring in the southern Nankai Trench within the next 30 years.
The Japanese Cabinet Office posted information on X, asserting that modern technology is still unable to accurately predict an earthquake.
Following a wave of travel cancellations, the Japanese Cabinet Office posted information on X, asserting that modern technology is still unable to accurately predict earthquakes. Therefore, the reliability of dreams from comic books is unfounded.
Yoshihiro Murai, the governor of Miyagi Prefecture, which was heavily affected by the 2011 earthquake, also spoke out against the impact of superstitious beliefs on Japan's tourism industry.
In an interview with Japan's Mainichi Shimbun, Tatsuki, the author of the book, also urged people not to be overly influenced by her dreams and to act appropriately based on the advice of experts.
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, the country saw a record surge in tourists, reaching 10.5 million in the first three months of the year. Therefore, the impact of the July disaster rumors stemming from the manga is causing considerable unease among tourism officials.
