Tatsuki's tsunami prediction fails; Japan tourism takes a hit, suffers loss of around Rs 30,000 crore

TOKYO: Despite the doomsday prediction by manga artist Ryo Tatsuki turning out to be false, the widespread panic it caused has dealt a significant economic blow to Japan, especially in the tourism sector.

Reports suggest that the tourism industry has suffered a revenue loss of around Rs 30,000 crore. However, the government has not officially confirmed this figure.

Tatsuki had predicted that a massive disaster would strike at 4:18 AM on July 5, claiming that mega cities would fall into the sea. She foresaw a major earthquake followed by a mega tsunami, sparking widespread fear among the public. Although the disaster never occurred, the prediction severely impacted Japan’s economy and tourism sector.

Travellers cancelled trips to Japan en masse. A spike in mild tremors in recent weeks worsened public anxiety. An additional volcanic eruption on the island of Kyushu further heightened fears. With the drop in tourism, some flights from Hong Kong to Japan were also cancelled.

Even though Tatsuki later issued a statement saying, “I am not a prophet,” it did little to calm the panic.

Japan lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region with the highest likelihood of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the world. Minor quakes are common in Japan, and its buildings are typically designed to withstand them.

Previous predictions had come true

• Ryo Tatsuki (70), also known as the “Japanese Baba Vanga,” is compared to the famous Bulgarian mystic who gained fame during World War II for her predictions.
• Tatsuki is said to have predicted the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which claimed around 20,000 lives.
• A comic illustrator by profession, Tatsuki published her predictions in a 1999 manga titled 'The Future I Saw.'
• She claimed to transform dreams she saw into manga form. The book was republished in 2021.
• In the book, she predicted that on July 5, 2025, at 4:18 AM, the sea between Japan and the Philippines would boil and thousands would die.
• The book also claims that Tatsuki had dreams foretelling the deaths of singer Freddie Mercury (1991) and Princess Diana (1997) years before they happened.