There are tourists who are canceling vacation due to premonitions … in fiction. There was a scheduled for April 26, nothing happened. Still, the cancellations continue. “It’s serious”
Japanese sleeve states that a natural catastrophe is imminent. Now, some tourists are canceling the trips
by Mai Takiguchi e Chris LauCNN
A Japanese comic band warns of a “true catastrophe”. A seer predicts mass destruction. A Feng Shui master advises people to keep away.
This may seem like the plot of a catastrophe movie, but for the Japan tourism industry, a recent “predictions” related to earthquakes such as the most superstitious travelers, particularly East Asia, canceled or adhered to the holidays.
Sismologists have long warned that it is virtually impossible to predict accurately when an earthquake can occur. Japan is a country with a good history of resistance to very strong land tremors and the perspective of a large earthquake is something with which its population lives daily.
But the fear of a “great earthquake”, amplified by both the seers and social networks, is leading some travelers to be afraid. And for many it is a comic book that is scaring them.
Published by mango artist Ryo Tatsuki in 1999, “The Future I Saw” warned of a large catastrophe in March 2011, a date that coincided with the earthquake that reached the Thoku region in northern Japan this month.
Its “full version”, launched in 2021, states that the next large earthquake will take place in July.
At the same time, mediums from Japan and Hong Kong shared similar warnings, triggering unfounded Internet panic that led to a vacancy of travel plans cancellations in the region.
CN Yuen, Director-General of WWPKG, a Hong Kong-based travel agency, said reservations for Japan fell to half during Easter holidays and that they are expected to continue to fall for the next two months.
Speculations scared above all the travelers of mainland China and Hong Kong, which are the second and fourth largest sources of tourists in Japan, respectively. But fear has also spread to other markets, such as Thailand and Vietnam, where social networking platforms are overflowing with messages and videos to warn people to think twice before traveling to Japan.
The anxiety caused by these prophecies became, according to Yuen, “rooted.” People just say they want to “postpone the trip for now,” he adds.
Premonitions
Japan is not oblivious to serious earthquakes. Situated in the fire ring, it is a zone of intense seismic and volcanic activity on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.
Fears of a “great earthquake” have been increasing since the Japanese government warned in January that there was 80% probability of a serious earthquake reaching Nankai’s gutter in the south of the country within 30 years. Some seismologists have criticized these warnings, wondering if they can ever be strict.
Tatsuki’s work has a significant number of followers in East Asia and her fans often believe that she can accurately see future events in her dreams.
In the sleeve, she draws a cartoon version of herself, where she shares visions that collects her dreams with other characters. Some of these dreams end up having a great resemblance to real -life events.
Its forecast – or coincidence – of the 2011 earthquake made Tatsuki famous not only in Japan but also in other parts of Asia, such as Thailand and China. The comic book has already sold 900,000 copies, according to its publisher. It was also published in Chinese.
Fans believe the author also predicted the death of Princess Diana and singer Freddie Mercury, as well as the covid-19 pandemic, but critics say their visions are too vague to be taken seriously.
The mango cover contains the words “massive disaster in March 2011, leading many to believe that it predicted the magnitude 9.0 earthquake more than a decade before it reaches tohoku.
The earthquake caused a deadly tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people and damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear center, resulting in the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
In the latest edition, “The Future I Saw (Complete Version),” Tatsuki warns that on July 5 this year, a slot in the sea between Japan and the Philippines, causing waves three times larger than those of Thoku’s earthquake.
Recently, the author asked what he thought about the canceled trips following the interpretation of her book by readers.
The Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported last week that although she considered it “very positive” the fact that her work has made people more prepared for disasters, she urged them not to be “too influenced” by their dreams and “acting properly based on expert opinions.”
However, it is not the only one to prophesy the earthquake.
The Chinese media have reported the predictions of a self -proclaimed Japanese seer who suggested that a large earthquake would reach the densely populated area of Tokyo Bay on 26 April. Although the date has passed without incidents, the forecast raised a huge interest in Chinese social networks.
Qi Xian Yu, a popular Hong Kong’s popular Feng Shui master and television personality known as Mestre Sete, also urged people to stay away from Japan from April.
Earlier this month, the Japan government office resorted to X to explain that modern technology is not yet able to accurately predict an earthquake.
However, Yoshihiro Murai, governor of Miyagi Province, which was harshly hit by the 2011 earthquake, spoke against the impact of superstitious tourism beliefs in Japan.
“I consider it severe that the spread of poorly scientific rumors on social networks have an effect on tourism,” he said during a press conference.
Is there a “effect of prophecy”?
Despite all the criticism on social networks, it is not clear if fear is working – Japan remains a very popular destination.
Hong Kong Samantha Tang is one of the people who postponed his trip to the country. Initially he planned to visit Wakayama, a beach destination about 80 kilometers south of Osaka in August, but was afraid.
“Everyone says a earthquake is coming,” said the 34 -year -old yoga teacher, who says she has gone on vacation to Japan at least once a year since the end of the pandemic.
Another Hong Kong traveler, Oscar Chu, 36, who usually visits Japan several times a year, has also changed ideas this year.
“It is better to avoid it. If an earthquake happens will be very problematic.” He explained that he was not very concerned specifically with the earthquake, but was concerned about travel chaos and flight disturbances.
However, many tourists are not intimidated.
Japan saw the number of visitors increase to a 10.5 million record in the first three months of 2025, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
However, 2.36 million travelers from mainland China visited Japan in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 78% compared to last year, according to the tourism body.
During the same period, about 647,600 Hong Kong inhabitants visited Japan, registering a global growth of 3.9% over the previous year.
And this only with tourists from East Asia.
In March alone, 343,000 Americans visited Japan, along with 68,000 Canadians and 85,000 Australians.
Hong Kong Vic Shing is among those who have not changed their plans. Although he heard of “prophecy,” he said he is still determined to have a vacation in Japan this year. You will visit Tokyo and Osaka in June.
“The earthquake forecasts have never been exact,” he said.
Even if one of them occurred, “Japan has already suffered many large earthquakes, it should not be a very bad country with regard to disasters management,” he added.
