Summary
- Viral claims about a July 5 “megaquake” prediction from Ryo Tatsuki’s manga The Future I Saw have stirred panic, especially among tourists.
- Seismologists and Japanese authorities strongly dismiss the forecast as unscientific and urge public caution against disinformation.
- While Japan faces real long-term seismic risks, especially from the Nankai Trough, experts emphasize preparedness—not panic—is the path forward.
Where Fiction Meets Fear: How a Manga Sparked a Nation’s Anxiety
On July 5, 2025, a country famed for its resilience found itself gripped by an unusual kind of anxiety—not from a government warning or seismic sensors, but from the pages of a manga. Social media platforms across East Asia were ablaze with a single question: will Ryo Tatsuki’s manga prophecy of a “megaquake” come true?
The source of the alarm is The Future I Saw, a 2021 reprint by Tatsuki, a reclusive manga artist often dubbed the “New Baba Vanga.” In it, she references a cataclysmic earthquake that would strike Japan on July 5, triggering a tsunami “three times bigger” than the 2011 Tohoku disaster. While the manga contains no scientific data, its eerie parallels to past real-world events—most notably the 2011 earthquake and tsunami—have given it mythic status among fans and fueled a cascade of panic.
As tourism dipped and airlines cancelled flights, Japanese authorities stepped in to cool nerves. Yet the incident reveals more than just a viral hoax—it exposes the collective trauma, latent anxiety, and fragile boundary between fiction and belief in one of the world’s most earthquake-prone nations.
Soo today July 5, 2025, the name Ryo Tatsuki rings a bell…
— Sydナウト (@Sydnaut) July 5, 2025
She is a Japanese artist who compiled her prophetic dreams in the manga The Future I Saw (1999), predicting various global events that many claim came true.
Today marks her final prediction… an undersea rupture… pic.twitter.com/wLvRJoGgb1
The Manga, The Myth, The Misunderstanding
- The manga The Future I Saw describes a July 5 megaquake triggered under the sea between Japan and the Philippines.
- Ryo Tatsuki previously gained attention for seemingly “predicting” the March 2011 Tohoku quake on her book’s cover.
- Fans believe she also foresaw COVID-19, Princess Diana’s death, and Freddie Mercury’s passing.
- Tatsuki has denied being a prophet but did not fully retract her July 5 prediction.
- The manga’s viral spread was amplified by East Asian social media, especially in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea.
Ryo Tatsuki’s manga gained cult status not because of its art, but because of its perceived clairvoyance. The original 1999 edition and its 2021 reprint included cryptic references to a “massive disaster in March 2011”—a detail some see as a prediction of the devastating Tohoku earthquake that killed nearly 20,000 people and triggered the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
With Tatsuki’s reluctance to fully withdraw the July 5 claim, the book’s status shifted from esoteric manga to pseudo-oracular text. Though she recently stated she was “not a prophet” and warned readers not to be “overly swayed,” her refusal to completely denounce the prediction only fueled speculation.
This ambiguity—combined with recent swarms of over 1,000 microquakes near Japan’s Tokara Islands and a volcanic eruption on Mount Shinmoe—was enough to send the internet into overdrive. On platforms like Weibo, X, and TikTok, videos interpreting the manga panels as prophecy amassed millions of views, dragging a fringe belief into the mainstream.
The Scientific Reality: Why Earthquakes Can’t Be Predicted
- The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has dismissed the manga-based prophecy as disinformation.
- Seismologists agree that earthquake prediction—with exact time, location, and magnitude—is currently impossible.
- Japan experiences over 1,500 earthquakes annually and maintains one of the world’s most advanced monitoring systems.
- Experts stress preparedness, not prophecy, as the only viable safeguard.
- University of Tokyo’s Professor Naoya Sekiya warns against irrational responses rooted in pseudoscience.
Scientific consensus on the matter is unequivocal: earthquakes cannot be predicted with precision. “At the moment, it is still impossible to predict an earthquake with specific timing, location or its magnitude,” the JMA reiterated, calling the manga prediction a “hoax.”
Japan’s geological infrastructure is among the most advanced globally. Real-time data from thousands of seismic sensors inform early warning systems that have saved lives in past disasters. But these systems detect earthquakes already underway—they do not forecast future ones.
Experts like Professor Naoya Sekiya emphasize that public fear, while understandable, must not devolve into irrational action. Panic buying, last-minute travel cancellations, and avoidance of basic preparedness out of fatalism can do more harm than the quake itself. In his words: “The best response is calm vigilance, not mystical speculation.”
Earthquake Tourism in Retreat: Real-World Consequences of Viral Hysteria
- Japan welcomed 3.9 million tourists in April—an all-time high—but saw a dip in May amid quake rumours.
- Hong Kong Airlines and Greater Bay Airlines cancelled select Japan-bound flights due to low demand.
- Some travel agencies report a 50% drop in Japan-related business.
- Earthquake insurance and steep discounts have been rolled out to stabilise travel sentiment.
- The Japanese government labelled the panic “regrettable,” urging reliance on expert guidance.
As the manga prophecy went viral, tourism numbers took a hit. May saw a dip in arrivals from Hong Kong, and multiple regional airlines scaled back operations to Japan, citing “low passenger interest.” At least one travel agency in Hong Kong reported that its Japan bookings had halved, despite price cuts and added insurance coverage.
The Japanese government has responded cautiously but firmly. “It is regrettable that people are being affected by baseless information in this age of modern science,” said one official, urging the public to follow only verified updates from the JMA and emergency services.
The irony is stark: a fictional manga, intended perhaps as dystopian allegory, has triggered real-world economic disruption. For Japan’s tourism-dependent regions still recovering from COVID-19, this isn’t just a reputational issue—it’s a fiscal setback.
Manga, Memory, and the Danger of Believing Too Much
Ryo Tatsuki’s manga prediction may not have scientific merit, but it clearly touched a collective nerve. It summoned memories of 2011, evoked dread of the next “big one,” and blurred the line between cultural narrative and public behaviour. But belief without basis is dangerous—especially in a country where the real risk lies not in comic book pages, but beneath the tectonic plates.
What Japan needs is not prophecy, but preparedness. And perhaps, in the wake of this viral myth, a deeper conversation can begin—not about who “foresaw” disaster, but about how a nation can rise before it falls.
