Is an earthquake or tsunami hitting Japan today? Manga prediction spooks people
Authorities on Friday evacuated residents from the islands located close to the epicentre of a 5.5 magnitude earthquake.
Tokara Islands in Japan's Kagoshima prefecture have witnessed more than 1000 tremors in the past two weeks, with the earthquake on Thursday (July 3) being so strong that people faced difficulty standing.
Following the repeated quakes, the Japanese government has warned the residents of the remote islands about the possibility of more such tremors in the waters southwest of the islands.
This came after authorities Friday evacuated residents from the islands located close to the epicentre of a 5.5 magnitude earthquake, near the tip of the southernmost main island, Kyushu.
Around 700 people reside on seven of the 12 islands, with there being no hospitals nearby in some of them.
The area has witnessed regular earthquakes in the past. However, the frequency of the recent earthquakes has been unusual, local media reports said.
One of the residents recounted their experience before a quake hits, calling it “eerie”. “You can hear a strange roar from the ocean before the quakes hit, especially at night,” the resident told The Asahi Shimbun, as per BBC.
Manga predictions fuel rumours of ‘deadly’ quake
Amid the increasing frequency of earthquakes, a comic book prediction has been fuelling speculations of a “deadly earthquake" in Japan.
The 1999 comic book by manga artist Ryo Tatsuki, whose new edition released in 2021, claimed that the next big earthquake would hit Japan on July 5 this year.
Apart from the residents, the manga has also led to travellers avoiding Japan, with arrivals from Hong Kong down 11% in May in comparison to last year, Reuters reported citing latest data.
Further, the authorities in the country have been bracing for decades for a “big earthquake” or a megaquake, according to the BBC.
However, authorities have urged the residents to not believe predictions of a major disaster. Ayataka Ebita, director of the Japan Meteorological Agency's earthquake and tsunami monitoring division, said that it was “difficult” to predict “the exact time, place or scale” of any potential earthquake with the current scientific knowledge. However, Ebita requested people to base their understanding on scientific evidence.
Meanwhile, according to a statement released by her publisher, manga artist Tatsuki has also rejected all rumours, saying she was “not a prophet”.
In view of the quakes, the Japanese government has announced a slew of measures, including the construction of embankments and evacuation buildings, to ramp up the country's readiness for any disaster.
