The people in Asia are currently more anxious than ever. A manga that has already predicted a major natural disaster believes an earthquake will hit the coast of Japan later this year.
What manga is this? The Future I Saw is a collection of manga volumes that were published between 1994 and 1998. The story is based on dreams of mangaka Ryo Ryuju, also known as Ryo Tatsuki.
The author has been recording her dreams since 1978 and has kept a dream diary since 1985. The dreams are especially characterized by the natural disasters that were still dated for the future at the time.
Since some of the predictions have already come true, many people assume that the next natural disaster is also imminent. And it’s supposed to happen in just a few weeks.
Manga leads to declining tourist numbers from Asia in Japan
What does the manga predict? Tatsuki dreamed that the next catastrophe will occur on July 5, 2025. On this date, there is supposed to be a mega earthquake that will take place on the west coast of Japan. Giant tsunami waves are expected to follow the earthquake, which would destroy Japan’s coastal regions.
What does that lead to? Many travelers from Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and Hong Kong take this warning seriously. Bloomberg Intelligence reports that travel bookings to Japan in these regions have already decreased by 50% compared to the previous year. For June and July 2025, a decline of 83% is even recorded.
How credible is the manga? The exact date of an earthquake cannot be predicted according to today’s scientific standards, according to the homepage of the Japan Meteorological Agency (via Bloomberg).
Nonetheless, the author’s predictions have surprisingly often been accurate:
- On the cover of the collected volume, there is a poster predicting a major catastrophe for March 2011. In fact, there was an earthquake at that time, which led to the nuclear disaster in Fukushima and a tsunami.
- According to fans, she also predicted the death of Lady Diana and singer Freddie Mercury. The Corona pandemic is also said to have been one of her visions.
In addition, the chance of an earthquake occurring in Japan is very high. Japan lies on the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” where earthquakes occur frequently. Tremors are nothing unusual for the inhabitants.
Experts even estimate that there is an 80% chance of a mega earthquake of magnitude 8-9 on the Richter scale along the southern coast of Japan in the next 30 years (via German Foreign Representations in Japan). This would also affect Tokyo.
Critics say that the author’s visions are too vague to be genuinely transferred to real events.
Although many tourists from Asia are reconsidering their trips to Japan, the country cannot complain. Currently, there are more tourists in Japan than ever before, which is why the government is now taking drastic measures: There are so many tourists in Japan that the government is now sending them to the countryside
