Japan Urges Calm as Quakes Continue, Dismisses Doomsday Hype

Japanese authorities are urging the public to remain calm and dismiss unfounded doomsday predictions, even as the nation’s southwestern waters continue to experience significant seismic activity. The government issued a warning on Saturday, July 5, of more potential strong earthquakes, particularly around the remote islands off Kyushu’s southernmost tip.

This comes after over 1,000 tremors have rattled Kagoshima prefecture in the past two weeks, including a 5.5-magnitude quake on Thursday, July 3, which prompted evacuations, and another 5.4-magnitude tremor on Saturday. The surge in activity has fueled widespread rumors, particularly from a comic book prediction of a major disaster this month, impacting tourism with an 11% drop in May arrivals from Hong Kong, where the rumors circulated widely.

Ayataka Ebita, director of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s earthquake and tsunami monitoring division, emphasized the scientific limitations of predicting exact earthquake timing, place, or scale. He urged the public to rely solely on scientific evidence. The artist behind the implicated manga, ‘The Future I Saw,’ also clarified she is ‘not a prophet.’ Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active regions, regularly experiences significant quakes.

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