In recent weeks, an obscure manga has captured headlines both in Japan and internationally. In "The Future I Saw" (Watashi ga Mita Mirai), author Ryo Tatsuki asserts that Japan will experience a massive natural disaster in July 2025. This forecast is reportedly influencing some travelers to cancel their summer trips to Japan and has rapidly spread across Japanese social media. Why are some individuals apparently taking Tatsuki’s claims seriously, and how has an upcoming Japanese horror film become entangled in this panic?

Ryo Tatsuki’s manga "The Future I Saw" originally debuted in 1999. It portrays Tatsuki as a character and draws from the dream journals she has maintained since 1985. The cover of the 1999 edition depicts Tatsuki’s character with a hand covering one eye, with postcards above her head alluding to various “visions” she says she witnessed. One postcard states “March 2011: A Great Disaster.” Following the catastrophic Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011, Tatsuki’s manga resurfaced, drawing renewed attention and driving up prices for out-of-print copies on auction sites.

In 2021, an updated version of Tatsuki’s manga, "The Future I Saw: Complete Edition," was released. This edition includes another premonition: an even larger natural disaster will strike Japan in July 2025. According to Tatsuki, a tsunami three times the size of the March 2011 one will hit the country. Given her earlier March 2011 prediction was perceived as accurate, news of her July 2025 warning quickly gained traction on Japanese social platforms.

As various media outlets have reported, Tatsuki’s July 2025 prediction may have also led some superstitious travelers to avoid visiting Japan this summer. Though the extent of this decline is uncertain, it appears 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, alleging that Japan’s earthquake risk will be elevated between June and August this year.

Japanese TV coverage has focused on Hong Kong airlines’ reactions to these predictions. As reported by ANN News and other broadcasters 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 drop in travel demand to Japan. Possible reasons include the disaster predictions for July and rising economic uncertainty. During an press conference in late April, Miyagi Prefecture Governor Yoshihiro Murai, where Sendai is located, dismissed the “unscientific basis” of disaster rumors circulating online and encouraged travelers to disregard them.

Naturally, this heightened media focus on "The Future I Saw" and its purported effect on tourism has returned the manga to the spotlight. On May 23, reports indicated the Complete Edition had sold over 1 million copies. This surge in interest also coincides with an upcoming movie titled "July 5 2025, 4:18 AM," scheduled to premiere in Japanese theaters on June 27. The film follows a main character whose birthday is July 5 and who begins experiencing strange phenomena, drawing inspiration from the July 2025 earthquake prediction in Tatsuki’s manga. The ongoing media discussion about the manga and its disaster forecast is likely boosting awareness of the film.

However, some Japanese social media posts and videos incorrectly state that the movie’s title refers to the predicted disaster date, mixing scientific earthquake data with alarmist claims. This prompted publisher Asuka Shinsha to release a clarifying statement: “We wish to reiterate that the author (Tatsuki) did not specify the exact date and time referenced in the movie title. We ask everyone to be cautious and avoid being misled by fragmented information in the media and on social platforms.”

From earthquakes and tsunamis to floods and landslides, Japan frequently faces natural disasters. Even if unscientific, Tatsuki’s premonition and its coverage tap into a broader, scientifically supported concern. Seismologists estimate a 70–80% probability of a Nankai Trough megaquake striking Japan within the next 30 years (sources: Asahi News, Kobe University). This issue resurfaced in Japanese news this year after the government updated its projected death toll for such an event in late March 2025. A Nankai Trough megaquake could affect a vast region of Japan, damaging major cities and causing approximately 300,000 deaths. It could also trigger enormous tsunamis, which is why alarming posts often merge Tatsuki’s premonition with scientific worst-case scenarios for Nankai Trough quakes. Still, accurately forecasting the precise date and location of a major earthquake and tsunami remains impossible—the Japan Meteorological Agency labels such predictions “hoaxes” on its homepage. Given Japan’s vulnerability to natural disasters, Tatsuki may have been coincidentally correct with her March 2011 prediction.

In recent weeks, many Japanese-speaking commentators on X have criticized the media hype and public alarm over Tatsuki’s forecast. “It’s foolish to trust disaster predictions from a manga. The Nankai Trough quake could happen any day,” one user remarked. Tatsuki herself has addressed the attention, stating that while she is glad if interest in her manga improves public disaster preparedness, she urges people not to be “overly influenced” by her visions and to “act appropriately based on expert guidance” (Mainichi Shimbun).