Reuters
Fri, July 4, 2025
A sales banner written by the store reading 'Whether you believe it or not is up to you' is displayed next to the comic book titled 'The Future I saw' at Village Vanguard book store in Tokyo
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's government on Saturday warned of more possible strong earthquakes in waters southwest of its main islands, but urged the public not to believe unfounded predictions of a major disaster.
Authorities on Friday evacuated some residents from remote islands close to the epicentre of a 5.5-magnitude quake off the tip of the southernmost main island of Kyushu.
That quake on Thursday, strong enough to make standing difficult, was one of more than 1,000 tremors in the islands of Kagoshima prefecture in the past two weeks that have fuelled rumours stemming from a comic book prediction that a major disaster would befall the country this month.
"With our current scientific knowledge, it's difficult to predict the exact time, place or scale of an earthquake," said Ayataka Ebita, director of the Japan Meteorological Agency's earthquake and tsunami monitoring division, after a 5.4-magnitude quake shook the area again on Saturday.
"We ask that people base their understanding on scientific evidence," Ebita told a press conference.
The manga, which some have interpreted as predicting a catastrophic event on Saturday, has prompted some travellers to avoid Japan. Arrivals from Hong Kong, where the rumours have circulated widely, were down 11% in May from the same month last year, according to the latest data.
Japan has had record visitor numbers this year, with April setting an record monthly high of 3.9 million travellers.
Ryo Tatsuki, the artist behind the manga "The Future I Saw", first published in 1999 and re-released in 2021, said she was "not a prophet", in a statement issued by her publisher.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. It accounts for about one-fifth of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly in Tokyo; Editing by William Mallard)
Japan evacuates small island village after over 1,000 quakes hit region
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Fri, July 4, 2025
THE INDEPENDENT
Japanese authorities have evacuated a small island village after the region was jolted by over 1,000 earthquakes in less than two weeks.
Authorities issued evacuation orders on Thursday after the Akuseki Island in Kagoshima prefecture was struck by a 5.5 magnitude quake, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The epicentre was off the coast at a depth of about 20km.
The tremor didn’t trigger a tsunami warning, local officials said, and all residents were safe. There were no reports of any damage to infrastructure either.
The 89 residents of Toshima village departed by ship, heading to a port in Kagoshima off the southern coast of Japan where they were expected to stay in temporary accommodation. The village of Toshima comprises seven inhabited islands.
The first group of people had left from Naze Port on Amami Oshima Island, 120km south of Akuseki, at 2am local time on Friday, NKH World reported.
The ferry was scheduled to stop at all seven inhabited islands of the village and reach the Kagoshima port after 6pm local time on Friday. The combined population of the inhabited islands was 668 as of June, the Japan Times reported.
The evacuees would stay at lodging facilities arranged by the village, local reports said. Officials said the evacuation could last about a week as people from other islands in the region could also be told to temporarily leave their homes due to the ongoing seismic activity.
Akuseki is part of the Tokara Island chain south of the Kyushu region, which has been rattled by 1,031 quakes of intensity 1 or greater since 21 June.
File. A building collapses following an earthquake in Wajima, Japan, on 2 January 2024 (AP)
Situated within the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', Japan is one of the most quake-prone countries in the world. Similar evacuations in Toshima were carried out in December 2021 after a strong earthquake rocked Akuseki.
Recent viral rumours of impending disaster stemming from a comic book prediction have dampened Japan's tourism boom, with visitors from neighbouring regions cancelling their travel plans.
Steve Huen of Hong Kong travel agency EGL Tours blames a flurry of social media predictions tied to a manga that depicts a dream of a massive earthquake and tsunami hitting Japan and neighbouring countries in July 2025.
“The rumours have had a significant impact," Mr Huen told Reuters, adding that his firm had seen its Japan-related business halve.
Discounts and the introduction of earthquake insurance had "prevented Japan-bound travel from dropping to zero", he said.
Hong Kong resident Branden Choi, 28, said he was a frequent traveller to Japan but was hesitant to visit the country during July and August due to the manga prediction. "If possible, I might delay my trip and go after September,” he said.
Ryo Tatsuki, the artist behind the manga titled 'The Future I Saw', first published in 1999 and re-released in 2021, has tried to dampen the speculation, saying in a statement issued by her publisher that she was "not a prophet".
The first edition of the manga warned of a major disaster in March 2011. That was the month and year a massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster struck Japan's northeastern coast, killing thousands of people.
Some have interpreted the latest edition as predicting a catastrophic event would occur specifically on 5 July 2025, although Ms Tatsuki has denied this.
A Manga Is Causing Earthquake Panic in Japan
Chad de Guzman
Fri, July 4, 2025
TIME
A TV monitor shows an earthquake that occurred off the coast of the Tokara Islands in Japan, on July 3, 2025. The epicenter was 20 kilometers deep, and the magnitude of the earthquake was estimated to be 5.5. Credit - Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images
Earthquakes can’t be predicted. Scientists agree that precise predictions of a time, place, and magnitude is not possible with current technologies.
Yet a years-old Japanese manga that claims a “megaquake”—those above a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale—will strike on July 5 has generated panic and deterred some inbound travelers for the past several months.
The 2021 reprint of The Future I Saw by Ryo Tatsuki, a retired mangaka in her 70s, warns that a “huge” tsunami “three times the size” of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake will wash over countries in the Pacific Ocean. The first edition of the manga, published in 1999, had referred to a “great disaster” in March 2011 that coincided with the earthquake that killed more than 18,000 people and caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster.
Last month, Tatsuki appeared to scale back her prediction about a July 5 megaquake, telling the national newspaper Sankei that it may not happen. But she fell short of entirely withdrawing her warning. TIME has reached out to Tatsuki for comment.
The 2021 reprint has sold more than 1 million copies in Japan, and social media content that has racked up millions of views is fueling the scientifically unfounded fears.
In recent weeks, two Hong Kong-based airlines alone have cut down on flights to southern Japan due to lower passenger interest. “We are surprised that such rumors have led to cancellations,” the Tokushima Tourism promotion division said.
The Japanese government has warned about earthquake speculation. In April, it released a statement that, “predicting earthquakes by specifying the date, time, and location is difficult with current scientific knowledge.” Last month, Japan Meteorological Agency director-general Ryoichi Nomura said in a news conference that it was “regrettable that people are being affected by baseless information in this age of modern science.”
Japan has long been a hotbed of seismic activity due to its position in the Pacific Ring of Fire. In August, JMA issued an advisory that “the likelihood of a new major earthquake is higher than normal” in relation to the Nankai Trough, a 560 mi. oceanic trench to Japan’s south. Earthquakes arising from the Nankai Trough are as the geologists Kyle Bradley and Judith A. Hubbard put it, “the original definition of the ‘Big One.’”
Earlier this year, a government panel issued a report stating that a megaquake along the Nankai Trough has an 80% chance of happening in the next 30 years. Under the worst-case scenario, as many as 298,000 people could die, the report added.
Japan experiences about 1,500 earthquakes a year, almost a fifth of the global total. The country has spent decades putting earthquake preparedness plans in place.
Given the history and frequency of earthquakes in Japan, concern is understandable. But JMA’s Nomura has “strongly” urged the “public not to take irrational actions driven by anxiety.”
JMA remains a reliable source of information about earthquakes in Japan, as are the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the British Geological Survey (BGS), and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) in their respective regions.
Callum Sutherland contributed reporting from London.
A TV monitor shows an earthquake that occurred off the coast of the Tokara Islands in Japan, on July 3, 2025. The epicenter was 20 kilometers deep, and the magnitude of the earthquake was estimated to be 5.5. Credit - Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images
Earthquakes can’t be predicted. Scientists agree that precise predictions of a time, place, and magnitude is not possible with current technologies.
Yet a years-old Japanese manga that claims a “megaquake”—those above a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale—will strike on July 5 has generated panic and deterred some inbound travelers for the past several months.
The 2021 reprint of The Future I Saw by Ryo Tatsuki, a retired mangaka in her 70s, warns that a “huge” tsunami “three times the size” of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake will wash over countries in the Pacific Ocean. The first edition of the manga, published in 1999, had referred to a “great disaster” in March 2011 that coincided with the earthquake that killed more than 18,000 people and caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster.
Last month, Tatsuki appeared to scale back her prediction about a July 5 megaquake, telling the national newspaper Sankei that it may not happen. But she fell short of entirely withdrawing her warning. TIME has reached out to Tatsuki for comment.
The 2021 reprint has sold more than 1 million copies in Japan, and social media content that has racked up millions of views is fueling the scientifically unfounded fears.
In recent weeks, two Hong Kong-based airlines alone have cut down on flights to southern Japan due to lower passenger interest. “We are surprised that such rumors have led to cancellations,” the Tokushima Tourism promotion division said.
The Japanese government has warned about earthquake speculation. In April, it released a statement that, “predicting earthquakes by specifying the date, time, and location is difficult with current scientific knowledge.” Last month, Japan Meteorological Agency director-general Ryoichi Nomura said in a news conference that it was “regrettable that people are being affected by baseless information in this age of modern science.”
Japan has long been a hotbed of seismic activity due to its position in the Pacific Ring of Fire. In August, JMA issued an advisory that “the likelihood of a new major earthquake is higher than normal” in relation to the Nankai Trough, a 560 mi. oceanic trench to Japan’s south. Earthquakes arising from the Nankai Trough are as the geologists Kyle Bradley and Judith A. Hubbard put it, “the original definition of the ‘Big One.’”
Earlier this year, a government panel issued a report stating that a megaquake along the Nankai Trough has an 80% chance of happening in the next 30 years. Under the worst-case scenario, as many as 298,000 people could die, the report added.
Japan experiences about 1,500 earthquakes a year, almost a fifth of the global total. The country has spent decades putting earthquake preparedness plans in place.
Given the history and frequency of earthquakes in Japan, concern is understandable. But JMA’s Nomura has “strongly” urged the “public not to take irrational actions driven by anxiety.”
JMA remains a reliable source of information about earthquakes in Japan, as are the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the British Geological Survey (BGS), and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) in their respective regions.
Callum Sutherland contributed reporting from London.
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