Japan experienced a record number of foreign visitors in May 2025, with approximately 3.69 million tourists, marking a 21.5% increase compared to the same month the previous year. This figure is the highest ever recorded for May. Key contributing countries included South Korea with 825,800 visitors (up 11.8%), China with 789,900 visitors (up 44.8%), and Taiwan with 538,400 visitors (up 15.5%). The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) reported that from January to May, the total number of foreign visitors reached 18.14 million. Despite this growth, tourism from Hong Kong declined by about 11% in May and by 33% in June, largely due to widespread fears triggered by a viral manga prediction foretelling a major earthquake and tsunami on July 5, 2025. This unfounded prophecy, originating from the manga "The Future I Saw" by Ryo Tatsuki, which had previously predicted the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, led to flight cancellations from Hong Kong and a temporary downturn in tourism demand from the region. Nonetheless, overall tourism to Japan remained strong, with June 2025 seeing a 7.6% year-on-year increase to 3.38 million visitors, the highest for that month. For the first half of 2025, Japan welcomed a record 21.5 million foreign visitors, surpassing 20 million at the fastest pace ever. Tourism spending from April to June rose 18% year-on-year to approximately 2.5 trillion yen. The decline in Hong Kong visitors was noted as an exception amid broad increases from other countries. The Japanese government has repeatedly dismissed the earthquake prediction as lacking scientific basis, but the rumors had a measurable impact on travel behavior, particularly among Hong Kong tourists. The tourism sector is now focusing on expanding experiential offerings to sustain growth.