A fan of Japanese manga reads a comic in his home in Kamisu in Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture.
Philip Fong | Afp | Getty Images
Visitor interest in Japan plunged in June, amid a prophecy in a manga that predicted a “disaster” would strike Japan in July 2025.
The prediction was in a 2021 reprint of a Japanese comic book, or manga, titled “Watashi ga Mita Mirai, Kanzenban” (which translates to “The Future That I Saw, Complete Edition”) by artist Ryo Tatsuki.
In the original printing of the book in 1999, the cover page referenced a “disaster in March 2011.”
In March 2011, Japan suffered its most powerful earthquake on record, the Great Tohoku Earthquake, which caused almost 20,000 deaths and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
The Amazon listing for the reprint stated that the author had “new prophetic dreams” including the “real disaster will come in July 2025,” according to a Google translation.
CN Yuen, managing director of Hong Kong-based travel agency WWPKG told CNBC that the rumor was widely circulated in Hong Kong, where it spread over mainstream media, TV networks and through YouTube influencers.
Visitors arrivals from Hong Kong plunged 33.4% year on year in June, following an earlier 11.2% drop in May, according to Japan’s National Tourism Organization.
Yuen said his agency has seen a 50% decrease in bookings and inquiries in April and May to Japan from last year.
Tourist arrivals from other Asian countries also experienced slower growth. Arrivals from South Korea rose just 3.8% in June compared with May’s 11.8%. Arrivals from Taiwan slowed significantly as well, from a 15.5% increase in May to 1.8% in June.
Overseas visitors to Japan grew 24%, on average, from January to May of this year, compared to 2024. But June arrivals only saw a 7.6% increase, according to Japan’s travel statistics.