"Manga Predicts July 2025 Japan Disaster, Sparks Fear of 'The Big One'"

Over the past few weeks, a once-obscure manga has surged into the spotlight both in Japan and globally. Ryo Tatsuki's "The Future I Saw" (Watashi ga Mita Mirai) has sparked widespread attention due to its bold claim: a massive natural disaster is set to strike Japan in July 2025. This prediction has led to a noticeable shift in summer travel plans for some, with holiday-makers opting out of trips to Japan. The surge in interest has been amplified through Japanese social media, but why are people seemingly taking Tatsuki's predictions seriously? Additionally, how has an upcoming Japanese horror movie become intertwined with this growing panic?

Originally published in 1999, "The Future I Saw" is unique in that it features Tatsuki herself as a character, drawing from her dream diaries she's maintained since 1985. The 1999 edition's cover depicts Tatsuki with a hand to her eye, surrounded by postcards representing her visions, one of which chillingly reads, "March 2011: A Great Disaster." Following the tragic Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011, the manga was rediscovered, and its rare copies fetched high prices on auction sites due to the apparent accuracy of her prediction.

In 2021, Tatsuki released an updated version titled "The Future I Saw: Complete Edition," in which she added a new prophecy: a tsunami three times larger than the 2011 disaster would strike Japan in July 2025. Given her previous accurate prediction, news of this latest forecast quickly spread across Japanese social media platforms.

This July 2025 prediction has reportedly influenced some superstitious individuals to reconsider traveling to Japan this summer, though the extent of this impact remains unclear. The effect seems most pronounced in Hong Kong, where the manga is available in translation. Hong Kong-based fortune-teller and TV personality, Master Seven, has further fueled these fears by claiming that Japan's earthquake risk will peak between June and August this year.

Japanese TV has focused on the responses of Hong Kong-based airlines to these predictions. Hong Kong Airlines canceled its three weekly flights to Sendai, heavily affected by the 2011 earthquake, while Greater Bay Airlines reduced direct flights to Sendai and Tokushima from May to October, citing a sudden drop in travel demand. This decline is attributed to both the disaster predictions and economic uncertainties. Miyagi Prefecture's Governor Yoshihiro Murai criticized these predictions as "unscientific" and urged tourists to disregard them in a press conference at the end of April.

The media spotlight on "The Future I Saw" has significantly boosted its sales, with the Complete Edition reportedly selling over 1 million copies by May 23. This renewed interest coincides with the release of a new Japanese horror movie, "July 5 2025, 4:18 AM," set to premiere on June 27. The film, which draws inspiration from Tatsuki's July 2025 earthquake prediction, focuses on a protagonist whose birthday is on July 5 and experiences eerie events. The increased attention to the manga and its predictions likely contributes to the film's publicity.

However, some social media content and videos have inaccurately linked the movie's title to the predicted disaster date, blending scientific earthquake information with alarmist warnings. This misinformation prompted Asuka Shinsha, the manga's publisher, to issue a statement clarifying that Tatsuki never specified the date and time in her predictions as mentioned in the movie title.

Natural disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and landslides, are common in Japan. While Tatsuki's predictions may lack scientific backing, they tap into broader, scientifically supported fears. Seismologists estimate a 70-80% chance of a Nankai Trough megaquake occurring in Japan within the next 30 years, a topic that has resurfaced in the news following government revisions to the projected death toll for such an event. Such a quake could devastate a vast region, potentially causing around 300,000 fatalities and triggering massive tsunamis. However, the Japan Meteorological Agency labels predictions of specific dates and locations for major earthquakes and tsunamis as "hoaxes." Tatsuki's seemingly accurate 2011 prediction may have been a fortunate coincidence given Japan's vulnerability to natural disasters.

Recent discussions on Japanese-speaking platforms like X have been critical of the media frenzy and panic surrounding Tatsuki's predictions. One user remarked, "It’s stupid to believe in disaster predictions from a manga. The Nankai Trough quake could happen today or tomorrow." Tatsuki herself has addressed the attention, expressing satisfaction if her manga has heightened disaster preparedness but cautioning against being "overly influenced" by her predictions and encouraging reliance on expert advice.