What happens when a manga becomes a sort of modern oracle? That’s what is happening with “Watashi Ga Mita Mirai”work of the enigmatic Ryo Tatsukiwhich for weeks has been at the center of a media case between Apocalyptic forecasts, falling tourism and collective psychosis.
Published for the first time in 1999the manga is a collection of dreams – or alleged such – that the author has started to transcribe in 1985and which over time have taken on disturbing contours. One of these dreams, written on cover of the original volume, spoke of a great disaster in March 2011: a prediction that many have connected to the devastating earthquake and tsunami of the Tōhokufollowed by the accident of Fukushima.
From that moment, the work has been reread as a prophetic text. But it is the new editionpublished between 2021 and 2022, to unleash the panic: here we speak of a “Real disaster” scheduled for July 5, 2025complete with Impact of an asteroid, underwater rifts and anomalous waves Three times higher than those of the Tōhoku.
Tourist flights collapsed up to 83% in that period
In a country accustomed to earthquakes and where theseismic anxiety It is always present, this “prophecy” is creating a real impact: i Tourist flights from Hong Kong towards Japan are collapsed up to 83% in the period between the end of June and the beginning of July. And the flows coming from Taiwan and South Korea They are suffering similar slowdowns. The reason? A combination of social media, viral videos e sensationalismwho transformed a manga into an element of tourist dissuasion.
The authorities, for their part, invite to calm. The same governor of the prefecture of Miyagi – among the most affected in 2011 – urged visitors to. The author also clarified that her visions should not be taken literally, but rather as an invitation to stay prepared.
Meanwhile, the Asuka Shinsha publishing housestrong of almost one million copies soldspecifies that it is only a based work on personal dreams and not on scientific data. But the question remains: it is possible that a simple manga really manages to influence the travel choices thousands of people? Apparently, yes.
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