Letter from Tokyo
Brace yourselves, tourists! A major disaster is set to strike Japan on July 5. On that day, according to a vision by mangaka Ryo Tatsuki, “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.”
Revealed in one of her works, this vision has, since the beginning of the year, fueled real panic outside of Japan and has even led thousands of Taiwanese, Chinese and South Korean tourists to cancel their summer trips. The department of Tottori (Southwest Japan) reported in May a nearly 50% drop in bookings from Hong Kong. “Interest in coming to Japan is waning. The impact of the rumor is undeniable,” admitted Governor Shinji Hirai.
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