A Japanese manga comic book has sparked widespread fear and uncertainty, leading some tourists to cancel their trips to Japan. The comic book, titled “The Future I Saw,” warns of a major disaster in July, claiming that a crack will open up under the seabed between Japan and the Philippines, sending ashore waves three times as tall as those from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Author Ryo Tatsuki’s work has a significant following in East Asia, and her fans often believe she can accurately see future events in her dreams.
The manga’s predictions have led to a surge in cancellations of travel plans, particularly from East Asia. Bookings to Japan have dropped by half during the Easter holiday, and are expected to dip further in the coming two months. CN Yuen, managing director of WWPKG, a travel agency based in Hong Kong, said that “people just say they want to hold off their trip for now.” The speculations have scared off mostly travelers from mainland China and Hong Kong, which are Japan’s second- and fourth-largest sources of tourists, respectively.
Despite the fear and uncertainty, seismologists have long warned that accurately predicting when an earthquake might strike is all but impossible. Japan lies on the Ring of Fire, an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese government has warned of an 80% chance of a severe earthquake hitting the country’s southern Nankai Trough within 30 years, but some seismologists have been critical of these warnings.
Tatsuki has urged people not to be “overly swayed” by her dreams and to “act appropriately based on expert opinions.” Yoshihiro Murai, governor of Miyagi prefecture, which was hit hard during the 2011 quake, also spoke out against the impact of superstitious beliefs on Japan’s tourism. “I believe it is a serious issue when the spread of highly unscientific rumors on social media had an effect on tourism,” he said.
Despite the predictions, Japan remains a wildly popular destination. The country has seen a record-breaking number of visitors, with 10.5 million tourists in the first three months of 2025. Many tourists are undeterred by the predictions, with some saying that Japan has encountered many massive earthquakes before and has effective disaster management systems in place. Vic Shing from Hong Kong said, “Earthquake predictions have never been accurate… Japan shouldn’t be too bad when it comes to disaster management.”