An Apocalyptic Manga Has Done What Nothing Else Has So Far: Made Tourists Cancel Their Trips to Japan

Samantha Tang is a 34-year-old yoga teacher living in Hong Kong with a deep love for Japan. Since the end of the pandemic, she’s made it a point to visit the country once a year. Recently, she had planned to spend August on the beaches of Wakayama, just 50 miles from Osaka.

However, she’s now postponed her plans for an unusual reason: “Everyone says so much about an earthquake coming,” she told CNN. Her case isn’t unique. Many tourists are canceling their trips to Japan out of fear of experiencing a natural disaster.

What’s particularly interesting is what has caused this fear among potential travelers. It’s not a warning issued by the government, a seismological agency, or a team of physicists and geologists. Rather, it’s a manga comic from 1999.

A 1999 comic. The reason why Tang and many others are considering cancelling their next trip to Japan is because of Ryo Tatsuki’s manga Watashi ga Mita Mirai (The Future I Saw). The manga discusses the author’s prophetic dreams.

While it might have slipped under the radar in bookstores, it gained notoriety because Tatsuki predicted a massive disaster that would occur in March 2011. That month and year, Japan indeed experienced a catastrophic earthquake resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries. This haunting coincidence catapulted the comic to fame, leading to widespread discussion on social media and TV. Meanwhile, its copies became highly sought after.

Why does this matter? The manga eventually became so famous that publisher Asuka Shinsha signed Tatsuki to release a new version. The “complete edition” was launched in 2021 and ultimately became a sensation. The publisher claims that more than 960,000 copies have been sold in total. The book has also been translated into Chinese and has gained popularity in other parts of Asia, including Thailand and Hong Kong.

Notably, the expanded version includes a prediction that has unsettled Japanese tourism and put many travelers, particularly the superstitious, on high alert. The manga says that “the real disaster will come in July 2025,” an idea even featured on its cover. It also contains emphatic passages such as: “I dreamed of a great disaster. The waters of the Pacific Ocean south of the Japanese archipelago will rise.”

The prophecy naturally has no scientific basis. The author herself acknowledged in an interview with Japanese newspaper The Mainichi that people should “act appropriately in consideration of expert opinion.” However, this hasn’t stopped the influence of the manga (and its prediction) from spreading.

Other predictions. While Tatsuki’s comic has helped in fostering fear of a natural disaster, it’s not the only factor contributing to the anxiety among tourists. This concern has intensified following a Japanese “psychic” who predicted an earthquake would strike Tokyo Bay on April 26. That never occurred. Additionally, Qi Xian Yu, a feng shui master with some influence on Hong Kong television, advised people to avoid traveling to Japan.

With social media amplifying these messages, the situation has escalated. Oscar Chu, another traveler from Hong Kong who usually visits Japan several times a year, expressed his hesitation about his planned trip in 2025, saying, “It’s best to avoid it. It’s going to be really troublesome if an earthquake indeed happens.”

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Beyond the prophecies. Predictions and prophecies aside, the reality is that Japan is situated in a seismically active region known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. Over the past few decades, Japan has endured earthquakes.

One earthquake struck the Kantō region in September 1923, while the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake occurred in 1995. In 2008, the Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake impacted Northeastern Honshū. The devastating earthquake of 2011 primarily affected the northern parts of Japan. Earlier this year, Japan experienced another earthquake in the southwest, though with a relatively low intensity, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale.

Japan recently issued another alert. The Japanese government has acknowledged that there’s a high probability of an earthquake occurring along the Nankai Trench, located in the southern part of the country, within the next three decades. In mid-April, even the Chinese embassy advised its travelers to take precautions.

According to Japanese authorities, the reality is that “with current scientific knowledge, it is difficult to predict an earthquake by specifying its date, time, and location.”

Impact on tourism. While foreseeing earthquakes is challenging, the prevailing climate of fear, largely fueled by Tatsuki’s comic book, is impacting the Japanese tourism sector. This is especially true for travelers from other parts of Asia, including China, Thailand, and Vietnam, which are significant markets for Japan. Hong Kong-based travel agency WWPKG told CNN that bookings for trips to Japan during Easter dropped by half. Forecasts for the coming months aren’t optimistic.

Hong Kong carrier Greater Bay Airlines has opted to reduce its services to Japan’s Sendai region and the city of Tokushima, cutting back on one weekly flight to each destination. This decision comes in response to a decline in demand amid rumors of a potential disaster in Japan. Economic uncertainty stemming from the U.S.’ trade war has also contributed to this situation.

A booming sector. The overarching question is how this prevailing apprehension will affect Japan’s burgeoning tourism sector. The industry has been thriving at historic levels and has even led to tensions in popular areas, such as around Mount Fuji and the geisha districts of Kyoto.

In 2024, Japan welcomed a record 36 million foreign visitors. In the first three months of 2025, the country surpassed 10.5 million visitors. Some experts believe it could reach 40 million visitors this year. Given these figures, some question whether the impact of prophecies could realistically affect the tourism sector. In March alone, around 343,000 American tourists visited Japan, alongside around 68,000 Canadians and an additional 85,000 Australians.

Image | David Edelstein

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