The prediction came and went, but the effects are still there.

Earlier this year, we reported on the recent hoopla surrounding manga author Ryo Tatsuki, who claimed to dream about the future. Her 1997 book The Future I Saw became popular sometime after the Great Tohoku Earthquake in March, 2011 because an illustration on the cover mentions a huge disaster in the same month and year. A follow-up publication was also released with an updated prediction that another major catastrophe was set to happen in July 2025.

Though known for a while in Japan, word of the manga eventually reached the shores of Hong Kong and spread rapidly there. As a result, there was a significant decrease in the number of tourists flying into Japan from Hong Kong, a drop that was felt most in the rural parts of the country.

▼ While big cities like Tokyo may bemoan flocks of tourists, many of Japan’s more remote gems live and die by tourist money.

While Japan made it through July relatively unscathed, believers of the manga could still claim a win in the form of a massive earthquake that hit on 30 July just north of Japan, off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Regardless of whether that could be seen as a correct prediction or not, the fact remains that July is over, so the figurative coast ought to be relatively clear.

However, in a city council meeting on 25 August, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, heard from Takamatsu Airport that the number of passengers from Hong Kong in August have not recovered, and none of the flights that were removed prior to July have been added back to the schedule. While Hong Kong was considered the center of the manga’s popularity, effects could also be seen from other neighboring countries, like South Korea and Taiwan, as well.

Online comments about the news expressed surprise that the manga had such an effect, and some wondered if there were other possible reasons for the drop in visitors.

“I totally forgot about that thing.”
“Someone made a profit by predicting a disaster without any basis. The affected businesses have a right to seek compensation.”
“People in big cities may be tired of tourists, but rural areas need them the most.”
“The decline in tourists from China wasn’t because of the manga, but the economic decline from the real estate bubble.”
“Maybe Japan simply lost its appeal.”
“Maybe it’s a good thing that numbers calm down for a while.”
“Probably because it’s too hot. They’ll come when it cools down a bit.”
“Just because the prediction was wrong doesn’t mean there’s no risk of a disaster.”

Takamatsu Airport said it would work on promotions and initiatives to lure back tourism to the area. However, as the last comment pointed out, it’s hard to enthusiastically say that there’s absolutely no danger of a natural disaster in Japan either. Luckily, I studied advertising and marketing from the pages of Wikipedia extensively and would like to offer up my own tourism campaign for Takamatsu City based on my expertise that’s both fair and exciting.

If that doesn’t bring them back, nothing will.

Source: KSB 5ch, Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Pakutaso
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