
Rumors of disaster spark travel decline, Japan says 'no cause for alarm’. Image: The Star.
(The Post News)– On July 5, the Japanese government issued a warning about potential strong earthquakes in the southwest while cautioning against unsubstantiated claims of a major disaster. Following a 5.5-magnitude quake on July 4, authorities evacuated residents from remote islands near the quake’s epicenter.
The July 4 quake was part of a recent swarm of over 1,000 tremors in Kagoshima prefecture, which have sparked rumors linked to a comic book prediction of a July disaster. Mr. Ayataka Ebita, head of earthquake monitoring at the Japan Meteorological Agency, emphasized the difficulty of predicting earthquakes after another quake hit on July 5.
Mr. Ebita urged the public to rely on scientific evidence when assessing earthquake risks. However, a manga comic book has been misinterpreted as predicting a disaster, leading some travelers to cancel their trips to Japan. As a result, arrivals from Hong Kong dropped by 11% in May compared to the previous year.
Despite the recent decline in arrivals from Hong Kong, Japan has enjoyed record-breaking tourism numbers in 2025, with April seeing a record 3.9 million visitors. The manga’s creator, Ms. Ryo Tatsuki, has denied being a prophet, stating that her work was not meant to predict disasters.