July 2025 catastrophe prediction from 1999 comic stirs fear across Asia
A decades-old comic book prophecy has triggered widespread fear across East Asia, leading to a surge in travel cancellations to Japan. The alarming prediction—first published in 1999 by Japanese artist Ryo Tatsuki—warns of a catastrophic natural disaster set to strike the country in July 2025.
The resurfaced forecast, which eerily anticipated the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, has reignited concerns about the credibility of such “prophetic” works and their real-world psychological impact.
‘A crack will open up…’: unsettling prediction gains traction
The manga in question, The Future I Saw, was originally released more than two decades ago. A revised 2021 edition carries a chilling warning: “A crack will open up under the seabed between Japan and the Philippines.” The passage suggests that an earthquake could be followed by a tsunami, with waves “three times as tall” as those of the 2011 disaster.
That 2011 calamity, now known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, lasted six minutes and triggered a tsunami that claimed nearly 20,000 lives, lending weight to Tatsuki’s earlier forecast and intensifying fear around her current one.
Japan braces for more psychic warnings
Japan, situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire, is no stranger to seismic activity. But what sets this panic apart is the wave of prophecies emerging from psychics, manga artists, and feng shui practitioners—all converging on 2025 as a year of potential disaster.
A self-proclaimed Japanese psychic had earlier predicted a massive earthquake would strike the Tokyo Bay Area on April 26, a claim that proved false. Nevertheless, such warnings have fueled anxiety, particularly after popular Hong Kong feng shui expert Qi Xian Yu (also known as Master Seven) advised people to avoid traveling to Japan beginning in April.
Airline cuts reflect falling demand amid disaster speculation
The alarm has had a measurable impact on tourism and aviation. Hong Kong-based Greater Bay Airlines recently announced it would reduce flights to Sendai and Tokushima between May 12 and October 25, citing a sharp decline in ticket sales. Industry sources link the drop in demand directly to circulating doomsday narratives on social media.
Online platforms are now awash with posts warning of a looming catastrophe. Travellers, especially from neighboring countries, have reportedly begun canceling planned trips in large numbers.
Ryo Tatsuki responds to growing hysteria
Ryo Tatsuki, often dubbed “Japan’s Baba Vanga” for her dream-based predictions, has urged the public to remain calm. In an interview with Mainichi Shimbun, she distanced herself from the panic, stating:
“I am merely taking it objectively. The high level of interest everyone is showing is proof of growing awareness of disaster prevention, and I’m taking it as a positive thing.”
Her publisher, Asuka Shinsha, also stepped in to temper public concern. “The contents of this book, published by our company, are based on prophetic dreams the author had and are not intended to stir up undue anxiety in any way,” the publisher said in a statement.
“When it comes to disasters and other events, we believe it is important to respond carefully and appropriately based on expert advice.”
Prophecies or paranoia?
In another dream detailed in her manga, Tatsuki wrote: “I dreamed of a great disaster. The waters of the Pacific Ocean south of the Japanese archipelago will rise.”
While skeptics dismiss the prophecy as speculative fiction, its uncanny alignment with past events continues to fascinate many. Whether Japan will actually face a large-scale disaster this July remains unknown. But the social, psychological, and economic ripples of this forewarning are already being felt.
Only time will tell if prophecy will meet reality—or remain confined to the pages of fiction.
