“The Future I Saw” (「私が見た未来」), a Japanese manga by Ryo Tatsuki, has been making waves over the past few years for its July 2025 disaster prophecy. It has gained renewed attention in recent months as the date draws closer, to the point of discouraging travellers from abroad. But is it all just silly paranoia? I bought a copy of the manga to see what the hype was about for myself. Here’s everything I found out.
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What is the prophecy exactly?
In the complete edition of “The Future I Saw” published in 2021, Tatsuki writes that while travelling in India many years ago, she had a dream that the Pacific Ocean south of the Japanese archipelago bubbled up like boiling soup. It was unclear if it was due to a submarine volcano or a bomb, she said.
She then had the same dream at 4:18 am on July 5, 2021, when she recorded the vision and date clearly.
"The Philippine Sea, located south of the Nankai Trough, suddenly bulged upward from below, turning into a massive tsunami that spread to surrounding countries. One-third to one-quarter of the Pacific side of the Japanese archipelago was swallowed by the huge tsunami. I also saw an image of two dragons heading toward the epicenter for some reason."
She claims a crack will open up under the seabed between Japan and the Philippines, sending ashore waves three times as tall as those from the 2011 earthquake in northeastern Japan. Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines will also be affected.
Why do people even believe her?
Japan, which sits on seismically volatile Ring of Fire, is no stranger to powerful earthquakes. Concerns about a major quake have intensified since January, when the Japanese government warned there is an 80 percent probability of a significant earthquake striking the Nankai Trough within the next 30 years.
Some claim that Tatsuki accurately predicted the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan in 2011 in her original manga. Whether it was coincidence or prophecy, it made her famous in Japan and other parts of Asia like Thailand and China.
In the manga, Tatsuki also suggests that she may have foreseen the deaths of Freddie Mercury and Princess Diana, among other events, in her dreams.
The tsunami dream was first recorded by Tatsuki in 1981, more than 15 years before the manga was serialized in 1996 and subsequently released in a tankobon in 1999. However, in the complete edition released in 2021, she states that she does not know if it was a premonition for the March 2011 earthquake; such an interpretation was made by readers later on.
She goes on to say that in the dream, she is wearing summer clothes, which is at odds with the March 2011 earthquake, which struck in winter. The tsunami waves in the dream were also much bigger, leading her to believe it may be a premonition for the July 2025 disaster instead.
What happens after July 2025?
In the pages following her July 2025 prophecy, she writes that in a dream on Jan. 1, 2001, she saw “a bright future after a major catastrophe.”
She also notes that while in her dream for March 2011 she saw the word 「大災害」(major disaster), for the July 2025 one she saw 「大災難」(major catastrophe). The subtle difference makes her wonder if the latter could be a disaster caused by human actions, rather than nature.
But the disaster will herald a new era for humanity, one where “an evolution of the heart and soul will occur.” In other words, a world where people help each other, cooperate with each other and everything heads in a positive direction.
Across the entire Earth, all people are shining brightly, living vibrant lives.
Possibly alluding to her death, she ends with:
When the era of the heart arrives, there will no longer be a need for me to see the future in dreams and sound warnings. Now, I feel like I can say "It’s finally coming to an end."
Earlier in the book, she writes she had a dream on Nov. 26, 1995, about her own funeral. Everyone was dressed in white, and she saw the date July 15. However, many years later on May 14, 2007, she dreamt that she would die on May 25.
What has been the reaction abroad?
The July 2025 prophecy has gained traction abroad, particularly in Chinese-speaking regions, over the past three years. According to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, over 1,400 related videos have been uploaded on social media platforms, collectively amassing more than 100 million views.
Things further escalated in 2024 in Hong Kong after famous feng shui masters gave their “seal of approval” to the prediction, urging people to avoid traveling to Japan after April 2025. Their remarks were widely picked up by local media, amplifying the sense of crisis.
With many in Hong Kong swept up in paranoia due to the prophecy, travel demand to Japan fell, causing Greater Bay Airlines to reduce flights to Sendai and Tokushima from mid-May to October 2025. Some duty-free retailers in Japan have also reported a sharp drop in purchases by Hongkongers.
Meanwhile, in Taiwan, news of the uproar in Hong Kong is beginning to have some effect. However, as an earthquake-prone region like Japan, public literacy on the topic in Taiwan is relatively high. As a result, people appear more grounded about the prophecy compared to Hong Kong.
Over in the West, there has been negligible reaction from what I can see. This may mostly be due to the fact that “The Future I Saw” has not be released in English. But with Western news outlets like CNN and The Independent picking up on it, this may change as the date gets closer. Or maybe Westerners are just less risk averse and superstitious than Asian cultures.
What has been the reaction in Japan?
Copies of the original 1999 manga, now out of print, are being listed on Mercari for as high as 150,000 yen. While I haven’t seen any takers, there are copies that sold for 15,000 yen. Which is a crazy profit given the manga was originally priced at 390 yen (lol).
A reedited version, with new elements including the July 2025 prophecy, was published by Asuka Shinsha in October 2021 and is readily available on Amazon for 1200 yen. You can get it even cheaper on second-hand markets. I got my copy off Mercari for 980 yen, including postage.
The reedited version, known as the “complete edition,” has also been a big hit, with the publisher announcing in May that it has sold over 1 million copies.
Author
When asked by Mainichi Shimbun about the effect her book has had, Tatsuki, now 70, replied that she is “taking it objectively.” She added that “the high level of interest everyone is showing is proof of growing awareness of disaster prevention, and I’m taking it as a positive thing. I hope that this interest will lead to safety measures and preparedness.”
Government
The Japan National Tourism Organization has dismissed concerns about the earthquake prophecy, while noting some impact from deterred travellers has been felt. It said it is working to provide accurate information.
What’s your take? Is she is a dream seer or is it just coincidence? Will you avoid travelling to Japan this summer?