A chilling prediction by Japanese manga artist Ryo Tatsuki, dubbed the “New Baba Vanga,” has triggered widespread anxiety across Asia severely impacting Japan’s tourism sector. Airline bookings from Hong Kong to Japan have reportedly plunged by 83% between late June and early July, as fears of an impending disaster loom.
Tatsuki, whose 1999 manga “The Future I Saw” eerily predicted the Covid-19 pandemic, warned of a massive catastrophe striking Japan on July 5, 2025. The republished manga ominously claims that “a crack will open under the seabed between Japan and the Philippines,” causing waves even more devastating than the infamous 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
As the date nears, Hong Kong Airlines has suspended flights to southern Japanese cities like Kagoshima and Kumamoto for July and August, citing a steep drop in demand. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, regional carriers have seen booking cancellations surge by 15-20%, particularly on Boeing-operated routes.
Travel hesitation has not been limited to the summer months. Bookings during Japan’s lucrative spring cherry blossom and Easter holiday seasons also fell by nearly 50% compared to last year, reported a major Hong Kong travel agency. Greater Bay Airlines saw an unexpected slump, with only 40% seat occupancy instead of the anticipated 80%, leaving industry experts puzzled until the manga prophecy gained public attention.
Despite growing panic, Miyagi Prefecture Governor Yoshihiro Murai urged the public to remain calm. “There is no reason to worry. Japanese citizens are not fleeing abroad. I hope visitors will ignore these unfounded rumours,” he reassured.
Ryo Tatsuki’s track record has only heightened public fears. Besides foreseeing the Covid-19 outbreak, she has also been credited with predicting the 2011 Tohoku disaster, the deaths of Princess Diana and Freddie Mercury, and has warned of a new, more dangerous strain of Covid emerging by 2030.
While officials and scientists dismiss such prophecies as superstition, the impact on Japan’s tourism and aviation sectors is very real — a reminder of how fear, even when rooted in fiction, can ripple through economies and societies.