Latest news with #WWPKG
Kyodo News
04-07-2025
- Kyodo News
FOCUS: Manga quake "prophecies" keeping H.K. travelers away from Japan
HONG KONG - Kyoto-based academic German Cheung adopted a "better safe than sorry" approach to the prospect of an earthquake in Japan in early July, despite having traveled to his hometown in Hong Kong just two months earlier. For his escape, the 47-year-old associate professor of international relations spent 35,000 yen ($243) on a return ticket to Hong Kong departing Friday, one day before a seismic calamity was predicted to occur. He plans to return to Japan next week. Since January, soothsayers in Hong Kong have talked up potential natural disasters in Japan, with the feng shui practitioners -- who generally trade in recommendations about personal arrangements and physical directions of belongings -- advising residents to steer clear of the country. The fortune-tellers referenced a Japanese graphic novel "The Future I Saw" in which artist Ryo Tatsuki predicted a "major calamity" in March 2011, coinciding with a catastrophic quake-tsunami that struck Japan's northeast and led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. In 2021, Tatsuki updated her work and made another prediction, this time for a cataclysmic earthquake she said would hit Japan in July 2025. The press and social media caught on, creating a perfect storm of concern. The speculation has caused anxiety among Hong Kong travelers, with the number visiting Japan in May declining 11.2 percent from the previous year to 193,100. The former British colony, which ranked as the fourth-largest source of Japan-bound tourists in 2024, was the only market to record a fall in May, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Cheung, who puts faith in feng shui-based prophecies, said it is easier to "just avoid July" in Japan, at least "from a Hongkonger's perspective." Among the first to suffer a blow were travel agencies and airlines. WWPKG, a holiday operator based in Hong Kong, saw Japan tour bookings halve in April and expects a further decline of up to 80 percent between June and August compared to the same period last year. At least two Hong Kong-based airlines have reduced or decided to suspend flights to destinations in Japan, including Fukuoka, Sendai, Nagoya, Tokushima, Sapporo, Yonago, Kagoshima and Kumamoto. "This is a result of a long-term accumulation of negative news," said Yuen Chun-ning, managing director of WWPKG, which specializes in tours to Japan. The manga itself, as well as feng shui practitioners and social media influencers who brought the message forward across Hong Kong, "all have played a role," he added. Situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan is accustomed to the Earth's seismic wrath. But an unprecedented alert issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency last August, warning about the increased risk of a massive quake around the Nankai Trough stretching from central to southwestern Japan along the Pacific coast, hit a nerve. Manga artist Tatsuki, who cited a prophetic dream in "The Future I Saw," suggested a fissure could appear in the seabed between Japan and the Philippines on July 5, with tsunamis extending as far as Indonesia and the Northern Mariana Islands in the northwestern Pacific. The author has been credited with foreseeing the magnitude-9.0 quake that rocked northeastern Japan's Tohoku region on March 11, 2011. The online panic about Tatsuki's next prediction was propagated by feng shui practitioners and psychics, with some advising that people should avoid areas located northeast of Hong Kong this year, such as Japan and South Korea. Qi Xianyu, a popular feng shui master and television personality in Hong Kong, urged people not to travel to Japan after April, with such recommendations from her and others causing an economic ripple effect across the tourism industry. But Qi refuses to take any blame for flight cancellations and the fall in travel bookings, saying, "Actually, it's really unfair." "There are also many who don't believe in me. If something gets better, I don't get credit, but now that things go wrong, you think it's my fault," she complained. Japanese meteorological authorities have dismissed the rumor-mongering as unscientific, while seismologists have cautioned that accurately forecasting the timing of an earthquake remains virtually impossible. Tatsuki recently revised her words and said big things "may not necessarily happen" on Saturday. But the damage has been done, with WWPKG's Yuen pessimistic about a possible rebound in Japan-bound tourism after July 5. "Out of concern, some customers said outright they won't go to Japan this year," Yuen said. "The bigger and more news reports out there, the slower the recovery will be."
Daily Mirror
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Japan's Baba Vanga's' terrifying prediction comes true after 'disaster' warning
Ryo Tatsuki, who has earned a reputation as 'Japan's Baba Vanga', has apparently seen one of her most chilling predictions come true today, while tourists have been left too spooked to book flights A psychic hailed as 'Japan's Baba Vanga' has seen another of her predictions come true - and believers have been left scared enough to change their travel plans. Manga comic book artist Ryo Tatsuki has drawn comparisons with the famed Bulgarian mystic on account of her eerily prescient premonitions, detailed in her 1999 book, The Future as I Saw. This creepy tome details a number of Ryo's dreams, some of which have purportedly come to pass. It garnered particular interest after the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which Ryo appeared to anticipate, with her prior warning of a major natural disaster set to unfold in March 2011. Naturally spooked, followers of Ryo's work have also been fearful of another date which is fast approaching - July 5, 2025. And there are those who believe her chilling vision has already come true, partly at least. Foretelling a calamitous disaster in an updated version of her book, published four years ago, Ryo wrote: "The ocean floor between Japan and the Philippines will crack. Huge waves will rise in all directions. Tsunamis will devastate the Pacific Rim countries. "A tsunami three times higher than that of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011 will strike the southwest of the country." It has been noted that part of Ryo's prediction has already come true, two days early, with a 5.5-magnitude earthquake rocking Japan today. As reported by the AFP News Agency, authorities have urged 89 residents of the small southern island of Akuseki to evacuate "to a school playground" after a quake powerful enough to make it "difficult to remain standing". Thankfully, Japan's Meteorological Agency has advised that a tsunami warning has not been put in place. Ayataka Ebita, director of the earthquake and tsunami observation division of the agency, told reporters: 'In areas where the tremors were strong, there is an increased risk of collapsed houses and landslides. Please be aware of earthquakes of similar magnitude for the foreseeable future." Although disruptive, today's incident is nowhere near in the same league as the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which resulted in thousands of deaths and widespread destruction. Whether it comes to pass or not, Ryo's premonition has had real-world knock-on effects for the tourism sector. CN Yuen, managing director of Hong Kong-based travel agency WWPKG, informed CNN that bookings to Japan had halved over the Easter holidays, with further dips expected over the coming two months. It's believed anxious travellers, all too aware of Ryo's frightening reputation for accuracy, may have been spooked by this particular prediction and thought twice about any trips to Japan. Meanwhile, Eric Zhu, Bloomberg Intelligence's analyst for aviation and defence, revealed: "The quake speculations are definitely having a negative impact on Japan tourism, and it will slow the boom temporarily. Travellers are taking a risk-averse approach given the plethora of other short-haul options in the region.' With this in mind, however, Ryo has previously cautioned people to remember that she is "not a prophet", reminding them to put their faith in experts, not just dreams.
The Mainichi
03-07-2025
- The Mainichi
Manga quake 'prophecies' keeping HK travelers away from Japan
HONG KONG (Kyodo) -- Kyoto-based academic German Cheung adopted a "better safe than sorry" approach to the prospect of an earthquake in Japan in early July, despite having traveled to his hometown in Hong Kong just two months earlier. For his escape, the 47-year-old associate professor of international relations spent 35,000 yen ($243) on a return ticket to Hong Kong departing Friday, one day before a seismic calamity was predicted to occur. He plans to return to Japan next week. Since January, soothsayers in Hong Kong have talked up potential natural disasters in Japan, with the feng shui practitioners -- who generally trade in recommendations about personal arrangements and physical directions of belongings -- advising residents to steer clear of the country. The fortune-tellers referenced a Japanese graphic novel "The Future I Saw" in which artist Ryo Tatsuki predicted a "major calamity" in March 2011, coinciding with a catastrophic quake-tsunami that struck Japan's northeast and led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. In 2021, Tatsuki updated her work and made another prediction, this time for a cataclysmic earthquake she said would hit Japan in July 2025. The press and social media caught on, creating a perfect storm of concern. The speculation has caused anxiety among Hong Kong travelers, with the number visiting Japan in May declining 11.2 percent from the previous year to 193,100. The former British colony, which ranked as the fourth-largest source of Japan-bound tourists in 2024, was the only market to record a fall in May, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Cheung, who puts faith in feng shui-based prophecies, said it is easier to "just avoid July" in Japan, at least "from a Hongkonger's perspective." Among the first to suffer a blow were travel agencies and airlines. WWPKG, a holiday operator based in Hong Kong, saw Japan tour bookings halve in April and expects a further decline of up to 80 percent between June and August compared to the same period last year. At least two Hong Kong-based airlines have reduced or decided to suspend flights to destinations in Japan, including Fukuoka, Sendai, Nagoya, Tokushima, Sapporo, Yonago, Kagoshima and Kumamoto. "This is a result of a long-term accumulation of negative news," said Yuen Chun-ning, managing director of WWPKG, which specializes in tours to Japan. The manga itself, as well as feng shui practitioners and social media influencers who brought the message forward across Hong Kong, "all have played a role," he added. Situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan is accustomed to the Earth's seismic wrath. But an unprecedented alert issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency last August, warning about the increased risk of a massive quake around the Nankai Trough stretching from central to southwestern Japan along the Pacific coast, hit a nerve. Manga artist Tatsuki, who cited a prophetic dream in "The Future I Saw," suggested a fissure could appear in the seabed between Japan and the Philippines on July 5, with tsunamis extending as far as Indonesia and the Northern Mariana Islands in the northwestern Pacific. The author has been credited with foreseeing the magnitude-9.0 quake that rocked northeastern Japan's Tohoku region on March 11, 2011. The online panic about Tatsuki's next prediction was propagated by feng shui practitioners and psychics, with some advising that people should avoid areas located northeast of Hong Kong this year, such as Japan and South Korea. Qi Xianyu, a popular feng shui master and television personality in Hong Kong, urged people not to travel to Japan after April, with such recommendations from her and others causing an economic ripple effect across the tourism industry. But Qi refuses to take any blame for flight cancellations and the fall in travel bookings, saying, "Actually, it's really unfair." "There are also many who don't believe in me. If something gets better, I don't get credit, but now that things go wrong, you think it's my fault," she complained. Japanese meteorological authorities have dismissed the rumor-mongering as unscientific, while seismologists have cautioned that accurately forecasting the timing of an earthquake remains virtually impossible. Tatsuki recently revised her words and said big things "may not necessarily happen" on Saturday. But the damage has been done, with WWPKG's Yuen pessimistic about a possible rebound in Japan-bound tourism after July 5. "Out of concern, some customers said outright they won't go to Japan this year," Yuen said. "The bigger and more news reports out there, the slower the recovery will be." (By Ezra Cheung)
Daily Record
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
'Japan's Baba Vanga' foresees 'devastation' in chilling prediction for 2030
Comic artist Ryo Tatsuki, who predicted the Covid-19 pandemic and Princess Diana's death, has been dubbed as Japan's version of the famed Bulgarian psychic A psychic who has been dubbed 'Japan's Baba Vanga ' has made a chilling premonition that she says will come true in 2030, just half a decade from now. Ryo Tatsuki is a Japanese comic artist who has previously predicted the deaths of Freddie Mercury and Princess Diana. The mystic also foresaw natural disasters like the Kobe earthquake in 2011 and health emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic. She has been compared to the infamous Baba Vanga, the Bulgarian psychic. Vanga's real name was Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova, and she died at the age of 84 in 1996 having become famous for her clairvoyance. She claimed to have gained her powers during a storm, when she lost her eyesight at 12 years old. And 85 per cent of her visions are said to have come true. But Ms Tatsuki is now rising as a successor to the world-famous Baba Vanga, and she is predicting another deadly virus for 2030. In her book, The Future as I See It, published in 1999, the Japanese psychic described an 'unknown virus' in 2020, leading many people to believe she correctly predicted Covid. 'An unknown virus will come in 2020, will disappear after peaking in April, and appear again 10 years later,' she wrote. And worryingly she also believes a horrific virus will 'return in 2030' and cause even 'greater devastation'. This concerningly coincides with Covid cases rising in India as a new strain of the virus has been identified, reported the Mirror. Holiday bookings to Japan have dipped sharply over another of Ms Tatsuki's predictions. Fear of another big earthquake in Japan has been building for years with the country sitting on a seismic fault line, and it has seen its fair share of quakes in the past. In fact, the country experiences around 1,500 official earthquakes each year, according to the EarthScope Consortium and These earthquakes occur daily, though many are too small to be felt. The most recent major earthquake in Japan was on March 11, 2011 with a 9.0 magnitude force, and it was predicted by Ms Tatsuki. It caused a massive tsunami that claimed thousands of lives and led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Four years ago, Ms Tatsuki published an updated version of her book which predicted another earthquake, this one in July 2025, which seems to have affected tourism to the country. CN Yuen, managing director of WWPKG, a travel agency based in Hong Kong, told CNN that bookings to Japan dropped by half during the Easter holiday. They are expected to dip further in the coming two months. Visitors from China and Hong Kong, which are Japan's second and fourth biggest source of tourists, have dropped significantly. The impact of her latest prediction is also being felt in South Korea and Taiwan, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. It used ForwardKeys data to gauge the impact on airline bookings and found that average bookings to Japan from Hong Kong were down 50 per cent year-on-year. Flights between late June and early July had plummeted by as much as 83 per cent. 'We expected around 80 per cent of the seats to be taken, but actual reservations came to only 40per cent,' Hiroki Ito, the general manager of the airline's Japan office, told the Asahi Shimbun following the sharp dip in travel over Easter. "The quake speculations are definitely having a negative impact on Japan tourism and it will slow the boom temporarily,' said Eric Zhu, Bloomberg Intelligence's analyst for aviation and defense. "Travelers are taking a risk-adverse approach given the plethora of other short-haul options in the region.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Daily Mirror
04-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Psychic dubbed country's 'Baba Vanga' issues terrifying prediction for 2030
Ryo Tatsuki, a comic artist from Japan, has made many predictions which have come true including the Covid-19 pandemic, leading her to be compared to the Bulgarian mystic Baba Vanga A terrifying prediction has been made by a psychic who has been dubbed Japan's Baba Vanga and it is due to come true in just five years, in 2030. Ryo Tatsuki is a comic artist, who had correctly foreseen deaths including those of Freddie Mercury and Princess Diana as well as natural disasters like the Kobe earthquake in 2011 and health alarms such as the Covid-19 pandemic. She has been compared to Baba Vanga, the famous Bulgarian mystic, whose real name was Vangeliya Pandeva Gushterova, and died at the age of 84 in 1996 having become famous for her clairvoyance. Baba Vanga claimed to have gained her powers during a terrible storm, when she lost her eyesight at 12 years old. And she is believed to have had such strong visions that 85% of them are correct. Now Ms Tatsuki is predicting another deadly virus for 2030 which is similar to that which hit the globe five years ago. In her book, The Future as I See It, published in 1999, the Japanese mystic described an 'unknown virus' in 2020, leading many people to believe she correctly predicted Covid. 'An unknown virus will come in 2020, will disappear after peaking in April, and appear again 10 years later,' she wrote. And worryingly she also believes a horrific virus will 'return in 2030' and cause even 'greater devastation'. It coincides with Covid cases rising currently in India where people have been warned to be vigilant. Meanwhile, holiday bookings have dipped sharply for Japan over another of Ms Tatsuki's predictions. Fear of another big earthquake in Japan has been building for years with the country sitting on a seismic fault line and it is no stranger to tremors. In fact, the country experiences around 1,500 noticeable earthquakes each year, according to the EarthScope Consortium and These earthquakes occur daily, though many are too small to be felt. The most recent major earthquake in Japan was on March 11, 2011 with a 9.0 magnitude force and was predicted by Ms Tatsuki. It caused a massive tsunami that claimed thousands of lives and led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Given that context, anxiety about a similar event seems understandable. Four years ago Ms Tatsuki published an updated version of her book which predicted another earthquake, this one in July 2025, and it is now affecting tourism it appears. CN Yuen, managing director of WWPKG, a travel agency based in Hong Kong, told CNN that bookings to Japan dropped by half during the Easter holiday. They are expected to dip further in the coming two months. Visitors from China and Hong Kong, which are Japan's second and fourth biggest source of tourists, have dropped significantly. In Thailand and Vietnam posts online warning of earthquake danger have been gaining traction. The impact of her latest prediction is also being felt in South Korea and Taiwan, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. It used ForwardKeys data to gauge the impact on airline bookings and found that average bookings from Hong Kong were down 50% year-on-year. Flights between late June and early July had plummeted by as much as 83%. 'We expected around 80% of the seats to be taken, but actual reservations came to only 40%,' Hiroki Ito, the general manager of the airline's Japan office, told the Asahi Shimbun following the sharp dip in travel over Easter. "The quake speculations are definitely having a negative impact on Japan tourism and it will slow the boom temporarily,' said Eric Zhu, Bloomberg Intelligence's analyst for aviation and defense. "Travelers are taking a risk-adverse approach given the plethora of other short-haul options in the region.'
