Earthquakes aren’t predictable, but this manga artist keeps getting close

A Japanese manga artist claimed she could predict global catastrophes through dreams. Now, a new date she warned about has just passed — and some believe her prediction came true.

Back in April, Straight Arrow News reported on manga artist Ryo Tatsuki, who published “The Future I Saw” in 1999. The book was based on dozens of dreams that she said foretold major events, all carefully recorded and illustrated.

Since then, several of her predictions have appeared to line up with real-life disasters. While critics call the parallels a coincidence, her fans often cite moments like the death of Freddie Mercury as proof of her foresight.

Deadly quakes that matched the manga

One of the book’s most striking predictions involved Tatsuki’s hometown of Kobe, Japan. A devastating earthquake struck in 1995, killing 6,000 people and leaving 45,000 homeless, according to National Geographic.

Tatsuki’s dream journal also included the phrase, “A huge catastrophe will occur in March 2011.” On March 11, 2011, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake hit eastern Japan, triggering a deadly tsunami. Known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, the disaster killed 16,000 people and left 2,500 more missing.

The date on the book’s cover

After decades of publishing her predictions, a new focus has emerged. The date July 2025 appears boldly on the cover of “The Future I Saw.” Tatsuki reportedly said she felt the same overwhelming urgency to include those numbers as she did with her earlier predictions from 1999.

Given her past accuracy, some people were unwilling to take chances.

TikTok videos speculating about Tatsuki’s July prediction began circulating, with creators sharing theories about what might unfold and some people even leaving Japan ahead of the date.

Even Greater Bay Airlines, based in Hong Kong, reported a noticeable drop in bookings for July 5, according to local coverage earlier this year.

Clarification from a media host

However, according to host Lei of “Lei’s Real Talk” and “Lei’s Looking Glass,” fans may have misread Tatsuki’s intent. Lei has a Chinese background and focuses on censorship and truth in the age of misinformation.

“This is what she wrote: she said, ‘If the day of the dream is also the day the disaster unfolds, then the day of the next great catastrophe will be July 5, 2025.’ And that line made the date go viral,” Lei said during a livestream on YouTube.

Lei emphasized that Tatsuki never claimed the event would happen on that date. Instead, it marked a moment when humanity might “wake up to the coming danger.”

A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the far eastern coast of Russia on Tuesday, July 29, prompting tsunami warnings across multiple nations — including the United States, Russia, Chile and Japan.

It’s one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in modern history. If the U.S. Geological Survey leaves the 8.8 magnitude quake as is, it’ll tie with the sixth strongest earthquake. The other struck Chile in 2010 and killed more than 500 people.

In Honolulu, tsunami sirens echoed through the streets and waves hit up to 5 ½ feet high in Northern California.

As a precaution, authorities ordered evacuations affecting nearly two million people in Japan.

However, as of Wednesday, July 30, Japan’s Meteorological Agency confirmed that all tsunami warnings have been lifted. Officials also reported no fatalities from the quake or resulting waves.

Is it coincidence or prediction?

While many scientists and experts continue to stress that earthquakes remain impossible to predict, online speculation hasn’t stopped.

Some social media users now believe Tatsuki’s dreams may have just aligned with reality — again.