Japan Faces Earthquake Fears Amid Comic Book Rumors

AKUSEKI ISLAND, Japan — The Japanese government issued a warning on Saturday about possible strong earthquakes in waters southwest of its main islands. Officials urged the public not to believe unverified predictions of a major disaster linked to a popular comic book.

Authorities evacuated residents from remote islands near the epicenter of a 5.5-magnitude quake on Thursday, one of over 1,000 tremors felt in the Kagoshima prefecture in the past two weeks. The earthquake was strong enough to make standing difficult.

“With our current scientific knowledge, it’s difficult to predict the exact time, place or scale of an earthquake,” said Ayataka Ebita, director of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s earthquake and tsunami monitoring division. He spoke to reporters after a subsequent 5.4-magnitude quake shook the area on Saturday.

Ebita emphasized that people should base their understanding of seismic events on scientific evidence, stating, “We ask that people not succumb to speculation.”

The rumors originated from the manga “The Future I Saw,” first published in 1999 and re-released in 2021. The comic has led some travelers to avoid Japan. Data shows that arrivals from Hong Kong dropped by 11% in May compared to the same month last year.

Despite the ongoing tremors, Japan has experienced record visitor numbers this year, with 3.9 million travelers arriving in April alone. Ryo Tatsuki, the artist behind the comic, stated, “I’m not a prophet,” in a response to the reactions surrounding her work.

Japan is situated in one of the world’s most seismically active regions, experiencing about one-fifth of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.