Over the past few weeks, a once-obscure manga titled "The Future I Saw" (Watashi ga Mita Mirai) has garnered significant attention both in Japan and internationally. The manga, penned by Ryo Tatsuki, has sparked widespread discussion due to its bold prediction of a massive natural disaster slated to strike Japan in July 2025. This claim has led to some holiday-makers reconsidering their summer travel plans to Japan, fueled by viral social media posts. Additionally, an upcoming Japanese horror movie has become entangled in this surge of public interest and concern.
Originally published in 1999, "The Future I Saw" features Tatsuki as a character and draws upon her dream diaries, which she began documenting in 1985. The cover of the initial edition features Tatsuki's character with a hand over one eye and postcards symbolizing her various visions. Notably, one postcard reads "March 2011: A Great Disaster," a prediction that eerily aligned with the devastating Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011. This coincidence led to a resurgence in interest in the manga, with out-of-print copies fetching high prices on auction sites.
In 2021, Tatsuki released an updated version of her manga, titled "The Future I Saw: Complete Edition," in which she included a new prediction: a tsunami three times the size of the March 2011 disaster would hit Japan in July 2025. Given her previous accurate prediction, this new forecast spread rapidly across Japanese social media, capturing the public's attention and fueling speculation.
Reports suggest that Tatsuki's July 2025 prediction has influenced some travelers, particularly in Hong Kong, where the manga is available in translation, to cancel their summer trips to Japan. While the exact impact on tourism numbers remains unclear, Hong Kong-based fortune-teller Master Seven has further amplified the prediction, warning of heightened earthquake risks in Japan between June and August 2024.
Japanese media outlets such as ANN News have reported on the response from Hong Kong-based airlines. Hong Kong Airlines canceled its three weekly flights to Sendai, a city severely affected by the 2011 earthquake, and Greater Bay Airlines reduced direct flights to Sendai and Tokushima from May to October, citing a sudden drop in travel demand. This decline has been attributed to the disaster predictions and broader economic uncertainty. In a press conference, Miyagi Prefecture Governor Yoshihiro Murai criticized the "unscientific foundations" of these predictions and encouraged tourists not to heed them.
The increased media coverage of "The Future I Saw" and its supposed impact on tourism has thrust the manga back into the spotlight. Sales of the Complete Edition have surpassed one million copies, according to reports from May 23. This renewed interest coincides with the release of an upcoming horror movie, "July 5 2025, 4:18 AM," which is set to premiere in Japanese theaters on June 27. The movie, inspired by Tatsuki's prediction, follows a protagonist whose birthday falls on July 5, and the narrative incorporates the predicted July 2025 earthquake. The widespread attention to the manga and its predictions has undoubtedly contributed to the film's anticipation.
However, some social media posts and video content have incorrectly linked the movie's title to the exact date of the predicted disaster, blending scientific earthquake information with sensationalist warnings. This has prompted Asuka Shinsha, the manga's publisher, to issue a clarifying statement: "We would like to emphasize once again that the author (Tatsuki) did not refer to the specific date and time mentioned in the movie title. We would appreciate it if people could take care not to be misled by fragmented information in the press and on social media etc."
While Tatsuki's predictions may lack scientific backing, they resonate with broader, evidence-based fears of natural disasters in Japan. Seismologists estimate a 70-80% chance of a Nankai Trough megaquake occurring within the next 30 years, according to sources like Asahi News and Kobe University. The Japanese government recently revised its projected death toll for such a quake, bringing it back into public discourse. A Nankai Trough megaquake could affect a vast area of Japan, potentially causing around 300,000 fatalities and generating massive tsunamis. However, the Japan Meteorological Agency labels specific date and location predictions of earthquakes and tsunamis as "hoaxes." Tatsuki's March 2011 prediction might be seen as coincidental given Japan's frequent natural disasters.
In recent weeks, many Japanese-speaking users on X have expressed skepticism about the media coverage and public panic surrounding Tatsuki's prediction. One user stated, "It's stupid to believe in disaster predictions from a manga. The Nankai Trough quake could happen today or tomorrow." Tatsuki herself has addressed the attention, expressing satisfaction if her manga has heightened disaster preparedness but cautioning against being "overly influenced" by her premonition and urging people to follow expert advice.
