Japan’s famed psychic warns of 2025 disaster, triggers travel cancellations

A Japanese manga artist and self-proclaimed psychic has sparked widespread concern after predicting a major disaster in Japan set to occur in 2025 — prompting many would-be travellers to rethink or cancel their summer plans.

Baba Vanga’s prediction for 2025

Ryo Tatsuki, known for her manga series The Future I Saw, has often drawn comparisons to Bulgaria’s blind mystic “Baba Vanga” due to her strikingly accurate past predictions. Her comic has previously foreshadowed major global events, including the deaths of Freddie Mercury and Princess Diana, as well as the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to reports.

In a 2021 edition of her manga, Tatsuki warned of a devastating event expected to hit Japan on July 5, 2025. This ominous forecast has resurfaced in public consciousness as the date nears — particularly because one of her earlier predictions, published in 1999, had eerily foreseen a “great disaster” in March 2011, the same month a powerful earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, killing thousands and causing a nuclear crisis in Fukushima.

With the predicted date fast approaching, apprehension has spread across social media, with many urging travellers to avoid Japan this summer. The effect has been significant. Travel bookings to Japan have nosedived, especially from nearby regions such as South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. As per reports, reservations from Hong Kong dropped by 50 per cent compared to the previous year, while bookings for late June and early July fell by as much as 83 per cent.

The impact wasn’t limited to summer travel alone — one Hong Kong travel agency revealed that Japan-bound bookings for the April-May spring break were also down 50 per cent.

Japanese authorities, however, are urging calm and dismissing the prophecy as baseless. Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai, whose region was deeply affected in 2011, addressed the concerns during a press briefing, stating: “There’s no need for alarm. These rumours are unscientific. Japanese citizens aren’t fleeing, and we welcome visitors — please don’t be swayed by false warnings.”

For more updates, join our WhatsApp and Telegram channels.