Japan Prepares for New Earthquakes – The ‘Prophetic’ Manga and Official Appeals for Citizens Not to Believe in Comics

The Japanese government has warned of the possibility of more strong earthquakes in the country’s southwestern region, but urged citizens not to believe baseless predictions about a “mega” tremor. On Friday, authorities evacuated some residents from the remote Tokara island chain, part of Kagoshima Prefecture, south of Kyushu Island, where a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck on Thursday. This quake was one of over 1,000 recorded in the Tokara Islands over the past two weeks, fueling rumors about a major disaster that originated online. Ayataka Embita, director of the Seismic and Tsunami Monitoring Division at the Japan Meteorological Agency, emphasized during a press conference: ‘With our current scientific knowledge, it is difficult to predict the exact time, location, or scale of an earthquake.’ He made these remarks shortly after another 5.4 magnitude quake hit the Tokara Islands. Officials are urging people to rely on scientific evidence rather than speculation. A particular source of concern is a manga titled ‘The Future I Saw,’ which many believe predicts a catastrophic event happening ‘today’ in Japan. The comic, first released in 1999 and reissued in 2021 by artist Rio Tachuki, has discouraged many tourists from visiting the country. Arrivals from Hong Kong, where rumors about the disaster have spread widely, dropped by 11% in May compared to the same month last year. Despite this, Japan recorded a record number of tourists this year, with 3.9 million visitors in April alone—a monthly high. With 125 million residents, Japan lies at the intersection of four major tectonic plates, making it one of the most seismically active countries in the world. The archipelago experiences approximately 1,500 quakes annually—about 18% of global seismic activity. On January 1, 2024, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake—the strongest to hit Japan in over a decade—struck central Japan’s Noto Peninsula, killing 470 people, many of whom were elderly individuals who died in the days following the disaster.