There’s this wild rumour bouncing around the internet—apparently, a giant tsunami is supposed to slam into Japan on July 5, 2025. Why? Because of a manga.
The whole thing started with “The Future I Saw” by Ryo Tatsuki, who’s been dubbed the “New Baba Vanga” (yep, another so-called psychic).
She claims she had a dream about some apocalyptic disaster on that exact date, and now social media is having a field day with it. People are saying a crack will open up under the sea between Japan and the Philippines, unleashing a tsunami three times bigger than the one in 2011. Three times! That’s massive.
Social media users on X are stoking the panic even more, tying it to fears about the Nankai Trough megaquake. Plus, there’s been this recent cluster of over 330 earthquakes near Japan’s Tokara Islands and a volcanic eruption on Mount Shinmoe in Kyushu, all conveniently lining up with the manga’s “prophecy.”
This is fascinating ‘The Future I Saw’ by Ryo Tatsuki. She made her dreams into Manga comics. Little did she know that some of her dreams were prophetic.
Date to watch 5th July 2025 Japan earthquake. So much so flights in Japan have reduced dramatically on and around this date! pic.twitter.com/KZHZzpIgVs— james hornby (@scartyke) July 1, 2025
🇯🇵 MEGAQUAKE MANGA PANIC GOES VIRAL
A 1999 manga by Ryo Tatsuki predicts a July 2025 megaquake – and millions online are taking it seriously.
Social media’s freaking out over “The Future I Saw,” which claims a tsunami wipes out Japan and hits Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the… pic.twitter.com/Y2qnu7UvoW
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 27, 2025
🚨Manga artist Ryo Tatsuki is known for predicting major disasters through her dreams, including the 1995 Hanshin Earthquake and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. In her 1999 manga The Future I Saw, she predicted a “great disaster” in Japan on July 5, 2025, sparking… pic.twitter.com/EubwmbuVqa
— OX Market (@OX__Market) May 26, 2025
Scientists call it coincidence
Scientists, for the record, are rolling their eyes and saying it’s all just a coincidence, but that hasn’t stopped the anxiety from spreading.
And get this—a survey last month found that nearly half of Japanese people have heard about this so-called prophecy. Sky Perfect JSAT polled 1,000 folks between 15 and 69, and turns out, teenage girls and women in their 50s were the most likely to be in the know.
Teenage and twenty-something guys were also pretty tuned in. Basically: if you’re young or middle-aged, there’s a good chance this rumour’s crossed your path.
Now, even though there’s zero science backing any of this up, the panic’s already messing with real-world stuff. Tourists from all over East Asia are bailing on their Japan trips—some straight-up cancelling, others just spooked.
The experts weigh in
Here’s where it gets even messier: Ryo Tatsuki herself told everyone not to take her predictions too seriously—she literally said to chill out and listen to the experts. But the damage is done. Airlines like Greater Bay Airlines are cutting flights, bookings have dropped 30%, and places like Tottori have seen Hong Kong visitor reservations nosedive by almost half. Nomura Research Institute’s Takahide Kiuchi reckons Japan could lose around ¥560 billion (about $3.9 billion) just from this rumor mill. That’s not pocket change.
So, what do the experts and the government have to say? Basically: calm down. No one can predict earthquakes with that kind of accuracy—science just isn’t there yet. Professor Naoya Sekiya from the University of Tokyo is all about being prepared for disasters, but he’s not buying the manga hype. Miyagi Prefecture’s governor, Yoshihiro Murai, is worried the rumours are wrecking tourism and says the real problem is all the unverified junk spreading online.
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