Experts have been quick to shut down the prediction made by Japan's 'Baba Vanga' as tourists have been cancelling their trips to the country as a result.
The chaos all stems from a prediction made by Japanese manga artist Ryo Tatsuki in her 1999 book, The Future I Saw.
Dubbed the new 'Baba Vanga', the late Bulgarian psychic who reportedly predicted events such as 9/11 and Princess Diana's death, Tatsuki claims she's had a window into the future since the 1980s and a few of her 'predictions' have seemingly come to fruition, however, one has seemingly took precedence.
According to her, holiday hopefuls would be doomed if they visited her home country as she seemingly had visions of the ocean in the south of Japan 'boiling' - with the day of reckoning reported to be 5 July, 2025.
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The earthquake in Myanmar on 28 March was also a cause for concern, adding fuel to the fire that she may very well be telling the truth.
Days after the earthquake, Japanese authorities released worst-case estimates in case of a mega-quake in the Nankai Trough, while China's embassy in Tokyo then issued a notice to those studying or visiting Japan to make safe arrangements.
And this was enough to convince travellers to hold off on travelling to Japan, with NDTV reporting that flights had dropped to 83 percent.
In Hong Kong especially, two airlines have had to cut down on flights to Japan in recent weeks, leading the Tokushima Tourism promotion division to say it was 'surprising' that 'such rumours' had led to cancellations.
But there are those who are sceptic of her prediction.
Professor Sekiya Naoya at the University of Tokyo told NHK that there is no scientific basis for her claims and that all she is doing is spreading fear.
“There is no way, with today’s science, to predict exactly when and where an earthquake will occur.” he said.
Kimiro Meguro, a professor of disaster mitigation engineering at Tokyo University similarly claimed that it’s just ‘not possible’ for a manga published four years ago to be an accurate predictor for a major earthquake this year.
"This is just a rumour." he told This Week in Asia. "There is no way for anyone or any technology that is available today to make such a prediction. This is not using a scientific approach to seismology.
"Rumours like this only make people nervous and groups of people who are nervous can be dangerous in a different way."
According to Japan Today, Tatsuki isn't the only person with predictions, as a popular feng shui expert in Hong Kong also expressed concern that a large earthquake would occur in Japan around July.
This spread of misinformation online is what Governor Yoshihiro Murai says is the root of the problem.
He said: “I think it’s a major problem that this information, based on rather unscientific evidence, is spreading on social media and having an impact on tourism."
Only time will tell if she’s actually right.
Topics: Baba Vanga, Travel
Britt Jones