TOKYO - Japan's government on July 5 warned of more possible strong earthquakes in waters south-west of its main islands, but urged the public not to believe unfounded predictions of a major disaster.

Authorities on July 4

evacuated some residents from remote islands

close to the epicentre of a 5.5-magnitude quake off the tip of the southernmost main island of Kyushu.

That quake on July 4, strong enough to make standing difficult, was one of more than 1,000 tremors in the islands of Kagoshima prefecture in the past two weeks that have fuelled rumours stemming from a comic book prediction that a major disaster would befall the country in July.

"With our current scientific knowledge, it's difficult to predict the exact time, place or scale of an earthquake," said Mr Ayataka Ebita, director of the Japan Meteorological Agency's earthquake and tsunami monitoring division, after

a 5.4-magnitude quake shook the area again

on July 5.

"We ask that people base their understanding on scientific evidence," Mr Ebita told a press conference.

The manga, which some have interpreted as predicting a catastrophic event on July 4, has prompted some travellers to avoid Japan.

Arrivals from Hong Kong, where the rumours have circulated widely, were down 11 per cent in May from the same month in 2024, according to the latest data.

Japan has had record visitor numbers in 2025, with April setting a record monthly high of 3.9 million travellers.

Ms Ryo Tatsuki, the artist behind the manga "The Future I Saw", first published in 1999 and re-released in 2021, said she was "not a prophet", in a statement issued by her publisher.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas.

It accounts for about one-fifth of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. REUTERS

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