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

In recent weeks, the manga "The Future I Saw" (Watashi ga Mita Mirai) by Ryo Tatsuki has garnered significant attention both in Japan and internationally. The manga, which first appeared in 1999, features Tatsuki as a character and is inspired by her dream diaries, which she began in 1985. The cover of the original edition shows Tatsuki’s character with a hand up to one eye, surrounded by postcards that reference her visions, including one that eerily predicted the "March 2011: A Great Disaster." Following the catastrophic Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011, the manga gained renewed interest, driving up prices for out-of-print copies on auction sites.

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

This latest prediction has reportedly influenced some travelers, particularly from Hong Kong where the manga is translated, to reconsider their plans to visit Japan this summer. The scale of this impact remains unclear, but it appears most pronounced in Hong Kong. Adding to the frenzy, Hong Kong-based fortune-teller Master Seven has supported Tatsuki's prediction, suggesting a higher earthquake risk for Japan between June and August this year.

The media attention has also affected the travel industry. Hong Kong Airlines canceled its weekly flights to Sendai, a city heavily impacted by the 2011 earthquake, while Greater Bay Airlines reduced direct flights to Sendai and Tokushima from May to October, citing a decline in demand attributed to the disaster predictions and economic uncertainty. In response, Miyagi Prefecture Governor Yoshihiro Murai criticized the predictions as "unscientific" and encouraged tourists to disregard them.

Amidst this, the manga's Complete Edition has sold over 1 million copies, fueled by heightened interest and the upcoming 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 prediction, has further amplified the manga's visibility. However, confusion arose on social media, with some mistakenly believing the movie's title indicated the exact date and time of the predicted disaster. Asuka Shinsha, the publisher, issued a statement clarifying that Tatsuki did not specify that date and time, urging the public not to be misled by fragmented information.

Japan's vulnerability to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and landslides, makes Tatsuki's predictions resonate deeply with the public. Seismologists estimate a 70-80% chance of a Nankai Trough megaquake hitting Japan within the next 30 years, a scenario that could affect major cities and result in approximately 300,000 fatalities, along with massive tsunamis. Despite this, the Japan Meteorological Agency labels specific earthquake predictions as "hoaxes" on its website, emphasizing the impossibility of pinpointing the exact date and location of such events.

The media coverage and resulting panic have drawn criticism from Japanese-speaking users on X, who argue that relying on manga for disaster predictions is irrational. Tatsuki herself has expressed satisfaction if her work has increased public awareness of disaster preparedness but cautions against being overly influenced by her predictions, urging people to follow expert advice instead.