Online rumors claim that a powerful earthquake will strike Japan on July 5th, causing some panic among Hong Kong residents. However, Hong Kong geological experts have pointed out that this assertion is purely fictional.
According to the Japanese manga artist Ryo Tatsuki’s work “The Future I Saw”, the author describes a prophetic dream stating that on July 5, 2025, a devastating earthquake even stronger than the 3/11 disaster 14 years ago will occur. The sea floor between Japan and the Philippines will suddenly erupt and rupture, causing a 100-meter-high tsunami that submerges one third of Japan’s territory. At the same time, a “new continent” linking Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines will rise.
As a result, Hong Kong residents have reduced the frequency of travel to Japan, and some Hong Kong flights have already canceled certain routes to Japan.
According to Hong Kong media reports, Hong Kong geological expert Chan Lung-sang said in a radio program “On a Clear Day” on the 4th that such claims are “pure fiction, completely the author’s own imagination.”
● Science Still Unable to Pinpoint Exact Timing of Earthquakes
He emphasized that there is still a great deal of the unknown regarding earthquake research; the scientific community is not yet capable of accurately pinning down the timing of earthquakes.
The Japanese earthquake research committee once estimated that there is as much as an 80% probability of a major earthquake occurring in the Nankai Trough within the next 30 years. Chan Lung-sang pointed out that the key to this assessment is that it covers a span of “the next 30 years”, not a short-term or specific date.
He explained that earthquakes are cyclical and patterned: the faster the movement between crustal plates, the higher the frequency of earthquakes. Scientists usually rely on historical data, geological observations, and the accumulation of fault energy to estimate the probability of future earthquakes. Even so, such predictions are trends over the medium to long term.
As for concerns that a super earthquake would physically connect the lands of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, Chan Lung-sang believes that such a scenario would only be possible with a giant meteorite impact— something entirely impossible at present.