Summer is one of the busiest travel times of the year, but some people who have upcoming itineraries in Japan may be rethinking their plans. The reason: a Japanese comic book, or manga, that warns of a devastating natural disaster set to befall Japan.
This might sound like a bizarre reason to cancel an upcoming trip, but reports have indicated that many Asian travellers are wary because the book and its author have seemingly predicted disasters in the past. Now, people are concerned that the manga will be correct again.
The manga, "The Future I Saw," was republished in 2021 after first being written in 1999. The 2021 version claims that a massive earthquake will hit Japan this July. Some people are concerned because the book seems to have been correct before; the 1999 version "warned of a major disaster in March 2011, a date which turned out to coincide with the cataclysmic quake that struck Japan's northern Tohoku region that month", said CNN. The republished manga warns that on "July 5 this year, a crack will open up under the seabed between Japan and the Philippines, sending ashore waves three times as tall as those from the Tohoku earthquake".
Many tourists, especially people from Hong Kong, are reportedly cancelling or changing their trips to Japan. Amid the tourism issues, Japan's government has taken steps to reassure people that the country is safe. There is "no reason to worry", said Yoshihiro Murai, the governor of Japan's Miyagi prefecture, noting that Japanese citizens are not fleeing to other countries. "I hope people will ignore the rumors and visit." | 
