The manga by the artist Ryo Tatsuki provides a “disaster” in Japan in July 2025 – writes CNBC.
This prophecy appeared in the reprint of 2021 of the Japanese comic, i.e. the manga. In the original edition of the 1999 book on the cover page there was a mention of “disaster in March 2011”
In March 2011, Japan hit the most powerful earthquake in history, which consumed almost 20 thousand. fatalities and caused the disaster of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima.
The description of the reprint on Amazon stated that the author had “new prophetic dreams”, including “a real disaster that would come in July 2025”.
Japan loses tourists
CN YUEN, Managing Director of the WWPKG Tourist Agency based in Hong Kong, said CNBC that the rumor spread widely in Hong Kong, where it spread in the main media, television stations and through influencers on YouTube.
The number of tourists arriving from Hong Kong fell in June in terms of year to year by 33.4 percent, After an earlier decline by 11.2 percent In May, according to the data of the Japanese National Tourist Organization.
JNTO data showed that In June, the participation of tourists from Asia fell in terms of year to year, but from Western countries increased.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan increased by an average of 24 percent. In the period from January to May this year, compared to 2024. However, according to Japanese travel statistics, the number of arrivals in June increased by only 7.6 percent.
“It's just a rumor.” Tourists know their own
Yuen from WWPKG said he was used to declines in travels related to natural disasters, which usually end after the incident.
But “this time it's different, because nothing really happened. It's just a rumor or prophecy,” he said in an interview with CNBC. “This is the first time we are witnessing such an incident.”
“Manga is not just entertainment”
Experts with whom CNBC spoke gave various reasons, including cultural ones.
“Manga is not only entertainment; it is widely read in various age groups and in some Asian societies has a cultural authority,” said Zimbayah Cambrble, a senior lecturer of the hotel industry at the James Cook University. This, combined with the memories of past disasters and the reality of Japan's susceptibility to seismic shocks, means that such warnings “strongly resonate” in the region – she added.
Kiattipoom Kiatkawsin, an assistant professor of hotel and tourism at the Singapore Institute of Management, said that the rapid spread of gossip through social media and the collective nature of many Asian societies led to the social strengthening of the perceived risk.
“In this case, a fictitious narrative, strengthened by social media, could create a convincing, though scientifically unjustified reason to postpone travel,” he said.
Source: CNBC
