Japan Manga Holiday Panic Amid July 2025 Alert

In recent weeks, a previously little-known manga has captured headlines in Japan and abroad. Ryo Tatsuki's work, "The Future I Saw," claims Japan will experience a major natural disaster in July 2025. This forecast is reportedly causing some travelers to cancel summer trips to Japan and has gone viral on Japanese social media. Why are people taking Tatsuki's predictions seriously? And how is an upcoming Japanese horror film connected to this growing concern?

Ryo Tatsuki's manga "The Future I Saw" originally appeared in 1999. It portrays Tatsuki as a character and draws from dream journals she has maintained since 1985. The 1999 cover shows her character with a hand covering one eye, while postcards above her head illustrate various "visions" she reports having experienced. One postcard mentions "March 2011: A Great Disaster." Following the catastrophic Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011, the manga resurfaced, with out-of-print copies selling for high prices on auction sites due to renewed interest.

In 2021, an updated "Complete Edition" of Tatsuki's manga was released. This version includes another premonition: an even larger natural disaster will strike Japan in July 2025. Tatsuki suggests a tsunami three times the size of the March 2011 event will hit. Given her earlier prediction regarding March 2011 proved accurate, details about her July 2025 warning rapidly circulated on Japanese social platforms.

As other media have noted, Tatsuki's July 2025 prediction appears to have influenced some superstitious individuals to avoid visiting Japan this summer. The extent of this trend remains unclear, though it seems most noticeable in Hong Kong, where the manga is available in translation. According to the Sankei Shimbun and CNN, Hong Kong-based fortune-teller and TV personality Master Seven has amplified Tatsuki's forecast, stating Japan's earthquake risk will be elevated from June through August this year.

Japanese television coverage has focused on Hong Kong airlines' reactions to these predictions. As reported by ANN News and others earlier this month, Hong Kong Airlines canceled its three weekly flights to Sendai, a city heavily affected by the March 2011 earthquake. Similarly, Greater Bay Airlines is reducing direct flights from Hong Kong to Sendai and Tokushima between May and October, citing a sudden downturn in travel demand to Japan. Potential reasons include the July disaster predictions and increasing economic concerns. During an April press conference, Miyagi Prefecture Governor Yoshihiro Murai addressed the "unscientific basis" of disaster predictions spreading online and encouraged travelers to disregard them.

Unsurprisingly, this heightened media attention on "The Future I Saw" and its supposed effect on tourism has returned the manga to the spotlight. On May 23, reports indicated the Complete Edition had sold more than 1 million copies. This surge in interest aligns with the upcoming film "July 5 2025, 4:18 AM," scheduled for release in Japanese theaters on June 27. The movie, which follows a protagonist whose birthday is July 5 as she encounters strange events, draws inspiration from Tatsuki's July 2025 earthquake prediction. Media coverage of the manga and its disaster forecast is likely boosting awareness of the film.

Nevertheless, some Japanese social media discussions and videos inaccurately state that the movie's title refers to the exact date of the predicted disaster, mixing scientific earthquake data with alarmist claims. This prompted publisher Asuka Shinsha to release a clarifying statement: "We reiterate that the author (Tatsuki) did not specify the date and time indicated in the film's title. We ask that people avoid being misled by incomplete information from the press and social media."

From earthquakes and tsunamis to floods and landslides, Japan regularly faces natural disasters. While Tatsuki's premonition may lack scientific backing, its coverage resonates with a broader, scientifically supported concern. Seismologists estimate a 70-80% probability of a Nankai Trough megathrust earthquake occurring within the next 30 years (sources: Asahi News, Kobe University). This issue returned to Japanese news this year after the government updated its projected casualty figures for such an event in late March 2025. A Nankai Trough megaquake could affect vast areas of Japan, including major cities, and cause approximately 300,000 deaths. It might also trigger massive tsunamis, explaining why fear-inducing content often links Tatsuki's premonition with scientific worst-case scenarios for Nankai Trough earthquakes. However, accurately forecasting the precise timing and location of a major earthquake and tsunami remains impossible—the Japan Meteorological Agency labels such predictions as "hoaxes" on its website. Given Japan's susceptibility to natural disasters, Tatsuki's March 2011 premonition may have simply been a coincidence.

Over the past few weeks, many Japanese-speaking X users have criticized the media attention and panic around Tatsuki's prediction. "It's foolish to trust disaster predictions from a manga. The Nankai Trough quake could strike anytime," commented one user. Tatsuki has addressed the attention, noting that while she is glad if interest in her manga improves disaster readiness, she advises people not to be "overly influenced" by her premonition and to "follow expert guidance" (Mainichi Shimbun).