In recent weeks, a previously little-known manga has captured headlines both in Japan and internationally. Titled "The Future I Saw" (Watashi ga Mita Mirai), the work by author Ryo Tatsuki suggests Japan will experience a catastrophic natural disaster in July 2025. This forecast is reportedly leading some travelers to cancel their summer trips to Japan and has gone viral on Japanese social media. Why are people giving credence to Tatsuki’s predictions? And how is an upcoming Japanese horror film connected to this growing unease?
Ryo Tatsuki’s manga "The Future I Saw" originally debuted in 1999. It includes Tatsuki as a character and draws from dream journals she has maintained since 1985. The cover of the 1999 edition depicts Tatsuki’s character with a hand raised to one eye, while postcards above her head allude to various "visions" she claims to have experienced. One postcard states: "March 2011: A Great Disaster." Following the catastrophic Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011, Tatsuki’s manga resurfaced, sparking renewed interest and driving the price of out-of-print copies up on auction sites.
In 2021, an updated version of the manga, "The Future I Saw: Complete Edition," was released. This edition includes another premonition: an even larger natural disaster is predicted for July 2025. According to Tatsuki, a tsunami three times larger than the one in March 2011 will strike Japan. Given her earlier March 2011 prediction appeared accurate, news of the July 2025 warning spread quickly across Japanese social platforms.
As various media have reported, Tatsuki’s July 2025 forecast appears to have influenced some superstitious travelers to avoid Japan this summer. The exact scale of this decline is uncertain but seems most notable 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 reinforced Tatsuki’s warning, asserting that Japan's earthquake risk will be elevated from June through August this year.
Japanese television reports have highlighted how Hong Kong-based airlines are responding to these predictions. As covered by ANN News and other broadcasters earlier this month, Hong Kong Airlines canceled its three weekly flights to Sendai, a city severely affected by the 2011 earthquake. Similarly, Greater Bay Airlines is reducing direct flights from Hong Kong to Sendai and Tokushima between May and October, citing a sharp drop in travel demand to Japan. Suspected reasons include the July disaster prediction and mounting economic concerns. During an April press conference, Yoshihiro Murai, governor of Miyagi Prefecture (where Sendai is located), criticized the "unscientific basis" of disaster predictions circulating online and encouraged travelers to disregard them.
Unsurprisingly, the heightened media focus on "The Future I Saw" and its possible effect on tourism has thrust the manga back into the limelight. On May 23, reports indicated the Complete Edition had sold more than 1 million copies. This surge in attention also aligns with the release of a new film, "July 5 2025, 4:18 AM," scheduled to open in Japanese theaters on June 27. The movie follows a protagonist whose birthday is July 5 and who begins experiencing eerie phenomena; it draws inspiration from the July 2025 earthquake prediction in Tatsuki’s manga. Media coverage of the manga and its disaster forecast are likely boosting awareness of the film.
However, some Japanese social media discussions and online videos incorrectly claim the movie's title refers to the exact date the disaster is predicted. These posts often mix factual earthquake science with sensationalized warnings. This prompted the publisher, Asuka Shinsha, to release a clarifying statement: “We wish to reiterate that the author (Tatsuki) did not specify the precise date and time referenced in the film’s title. We ask everyone to be mindful and avoid being misled by fragmented information in the media and on social platforms.”
From earthquakes and tsunamis to floods and landslides, Japan regularly faces natural disasters. Although Tatsuki’s premonition is not scientifically grounded, it resonates with a broader, scientifically supported concern. Seismologists estimate a 70–80% probability of a Nankai Trough megathrust earthquake occurring within the next 30 years (sources: Asahi News, Kobe University). This topic returned to the news this year after the Japanese government updated its projected casualty figures for such an event in late March 2025. A Nankai Trough megaquake could affect a vast portion of Japan, endangering numerous major cities and causing approximately 300,000 deaths. It could also trigger massive tsunamis, which is why alarming posts often merge Tatsuki’s prediction with scientific worst-case scenarios for a Nankai Trough event. Still, accurately forecasting the exact timing and location of a major earthquake and tsunami remains impossible—the Japan Meteorological Agency labels such predictions "hoaxes" on its official website. It seems that, given Japan’s vulnerability to natural disasters, Tatsuki’s March 2011 premonition may have been a lucky coincidence.
In recent weeks, many Japanese-speaking commentators on X have expressed skepticism about the media attention and fear surrounding Tatsuki’s prediction. “It’s foolish to trust disaster predictions from a manga. The Nankai Trough quake could strike today or tomorrow,” remarked one user. Tatsuki herself has addressed the attention, stating that while she is glad her manga may have heightened disaster awareness, she advises people not to be “overly influenced” by her premonition and to “follow guidance from experts” (Mainichi Shimbun).
