Tourists cancel trips to Japan after manga predicts disaster; understand
A Japanese manga talks about a “real catastrophe.” A psychic predicts mass destruction. A feng shui master advises people to avoid certain areas.
It sounds like something out of a disaster movie, but these kinds of earthquake “predictions” are worrying Japan’s tourism industry . Tourists, especially from East Asian countries, have been canceling or postponing their trips out of fear of a possible tragedy .
Seismologists have warned many times that it is virtually impossible to accurately predict earthquakes. Despite this, Japan, which has a solid history of resisting earthquakes, lives with the constant risk of intense tremors — something that is part of the population's daily routine.
But fears of a “big earthquake,” amplified by psychics and social media, are scaring some travelers. And the main reason appears to be a comic book.
The manga “The Future I Saw,” released in 1999 by artist Ryo Tatsuki, predicted a major disaster in March 2011 — the exact month of the devastating earthquake that struck the Tohoku region in northern Japan.
In 2021, the author released a complete version of the work, in which she states that the next major earthquake will happen in July of this year.
At the same time, psychics from Japan and Hong Kong made similar predictions , generating unfounded panic on social media and a wave of travel cancellations in several Asian countries.
CN Yuen , director of Hong Kong- based travel agency WWPKG, said bookings to Japan had halved over the Easter holiday and were expected to decline further over the next two months.
According to him, most of the cancellations come from mainland China and Hong Kong — the second and fourth largest tourist destinations to Japan, respectively. But fears have also spread to countries like Thailand and Vietnam, where posts and videos on social media warn against traveling to Japan.
According to Yuen, these concerns are so deep-rooted that “people are just saying they’re going to postpone travel for now.”
What are the predictions like?Japan is a country accustomed to severe earthquakes, as it is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire — an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity.
Fears of a “major earthquake” were fueled by a Japanese government statement in January warning of an 80 percent chance of a severe earthquake hitting the Nankai Trench in the south of the country within the next 30 years. Some seismologists, however, have questioned the accuracy of that data.
Tatsuki's work has many fans in East Asia, who believe she can predict the future through dreams.
In the manga, she portrays herself as a character and shares with other characters the visions she has while sleeping — some of which coincide, unsettlingly, with real events.
The “prediction” 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 900,000 copies and was also published in Chinese.
Fans believe she also predicted the death of Princess Diana, the death of Freddie Mercury and the Covid-19 pandemic. Critics, on the other hand, say her predictions are too vague to be taken seriously.
The manga's cover reads "major disaster in March 2011", which led many to believe that it had anticipated the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Tohoku — the same one that caused the tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people and led to the Fukushima nuclear tragedy, the worst atomic accident since Chernobyl.
In the latest version, “The Future I Saw – Complete Version”, Tatsuki states that on July 5th of this year a crack will open in the seabed between Japan and the Philippines , generating waves three times larger than those of the 2011 tsunami.
Asked recently about travel cancellations prompted by her predictions, she told the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun that she sees it as “very positive” that her work makes people more prepared for disasters.
However, he asked people not to get too carried away by their dreams and to act rationally, based on science and expert advice.
She is not the only one predicting disaster. Chinese media have been reporting predictions from a supposed Japanese psychic who claimed a massive earthquake would hit the Tokyo Bay area on April 26. The date passed without incident, but the prediction received huge coverage on Chinese social media.
Hong Kong-based feng shui master Qi Xian Yu, known as Master Seven, also advised people to avoid Japan from April .
In response to speculation, Japan's Cabinet Office issued a warning on Twitter earlier this month: current technology is not yet capable of accurately predicting earthquakes.
Yoshihiro Murai , governor of Miyagi Prefecture — one of the hardest-hit in 2011 — also criticized the spread of superstitions on social media and its impact on Japanese tourism. “It is a serious problem when highly unscientific rumors on social media affect the tourism industry,” he said at a press conference.
Is there a “prophecy effect”?Despite the avalanche of information on social media, it is still unclear whether this alarmism is actually putting off tourists — Japan remains one of the most sought-after destinations in the world .
Hong Kong yoga instructor Samantha Tang , 34, is one of those who decided to postpone her trip. She had planned to visit Wakayama, south of Osaka, in August but had to pull out due to fears.
“Everyone is talking about this earthquake that’s about to happen,” said the woman, who has visited Japan at least once a year since the pandemic ended.
Another traveler from Hong Kong, Oscar Chu , 36, who usually goes to Japan several times a year, also decided to change his plans this time. “It’s better to avoid it. If an earthquake does happen, it will be a huge disruption,” he explained. He’s not so much afraid of the quake itself, but of the possible consequences for transportation and flights.
Still, many tourists are sticking to their plans. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, the country welcomed 10.5 million visitors in the first three months of 2025 alone — an all-time record.
Of the total, 2.36 million came from mainland China, an increase of 78% compared to the same period last year. Hong Kong sent around 647,000 tourists, an annual growth of 3.9%. And these figures refer only to East Asia.
In March, Japan also received 343,000 visitors from the United States, 68,000 from Canada and 85,000 from Australia.
Vic Shing , from Hong Kong, is one of those who kept his plans. Even though he knew about the “prophecy,” he decided to go ahead with the trip to Tokyo and Osaka in June.
“Earthquake predictions have never been reliable,” he said. “Even if it happens, Japan has already faced several huge earthquakes. They know how to deal with these kinds of situations.”
CNN Brasil
