Rumors of a forthcoming disasterwhich have become viral and are due to a comic book forecast, are affecting Japanese tourism, with some airlines canceling flights from Hong Kong, where passengers’ numbers have declined sharply.

Japan had a record record numbers this year, with April reaching the highest monthly level of 3.9 million travelers.

However, that number fell vertically in May, with arrivals from Hong Kong, the China -controlled city, whose population is famous for the superstition and prejudices his and where rumors were widely circulated, to They record a 11% reduction compared to the previous year, according to the latest data.

Steve Huen of the Hong Kong -based EGL Tours travel agency attributed this situation to forecasts that are widely reproduced on social media and connected to a manga describing a Dream for a great earthquake and tsunami where hurt Japan and neighboring countries In July 2025.

‘Rumors had a significant impact’, Huen says, adding that his company saw its jobs associated with Japan falling in half. Discounts and the insurance supply for earthquake ‘Prevented the trips to Japan from falling to zero’, added.

Braden Choy, a 28 -year -old Hong Kong resident, says he often traveled to Japan, but this year he is reluctant to visit the country in July and August because of the forecast in Manga. “If possible, I may delay my trip and go after September,” he says.

Rio Tatsuki, the artist behind the manga entitled “The future I saw», Which first released the 1999 and then re -published in 2021she has tried to limit rumors by saying in a statement made public by her publisher that ‘not a prophet“

The first edition of Manga warned of a Great natural disaster in March 2011. It was the month and the year that a major earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear disaster hit Japan’s northeast coast, killing thousands of people.

Some have interpreted that the latest release predicts that one disastrous event will happen specifically On July 5, 2025though Tatsuki has denied it.

Japan, located in the so -called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific Ocean, is one of the most earthquake -prone countries in the world. In recent days, more than 900 earthquakes have occurred, most of the small vibrations, on the islands in the open south end of Kyoussos.

But Robert Geller, a professor at the University of Tokyo, who has been studying seismology since 1971, says science -based predictions of earthquakes are “weak”.

“None of the forecasts made during my scientific career has been confirmed even a while”he said.

However, the low -cost airline company Greater Bay Airlines took place yesterday, Wednesday, Hong Kong’s latest airline canceled flights to Japan due to low demandsaying that from September he will suspend Tokushima’s service in western Japan indefinitely.

Sirina Peng, 30, visiting Tokyo from Seattle, had initially tried to persuade her husband not to visit Japan after seeing rumors on social media.

‘I’m not overly worried at the moment, but before I was worried’He says speaking outside the crowded Temple of Tokyo.