Analysis: Baseless rumor fuels Japan quake concernーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
A rumor originating from a manga story predicted a natural disaster would hit Japan on July 5th. Well, despite being false, it’s had a major impact on the country’s tourism sector, especially with travelers from Hong Kong. That’s because the prediction was given a boost when Feni Masters in Hong Kong advised people not to travel to Japan. From May, flights from Hong Kong to Japan were cancelled or reduced, and the number of visitors from Hong Kong that month fell by about 10% from the same period last year. For me, the most important thing about traveling is safety. After hearing this prediction, I will try to avoid going to Japan during July and August. If possible, I might delay my trip until after September. I’m going to go a trip. On Saturday, stories about the rumor made the front pages of Hong Kong newspapers, saying the truth of the prophecy is now revealed. People expressed relief on social media that nothing had happened. A Hong Kong travel agency has launched a sales campaign declaring the end of the rumor. It posted videos of people leading normal lives across Japan. Well, last year, Japan saw 2.68 million arrivals from Hong Kong, a record high. The country is the most popular travel destination for Hong Kongers. So, no massive disaster, but concern at least among some people and HK World’s Okatani Hiroi has been uh looking into this and is now here to give us his thoughts. So, Hiroi, this rumor is baseless, but it has certainly made headlines across the world. Now, why did it spread so far? Well, we are in the internet age. So, rightly or wrongly, anything can catch many eyeballs at any time. But a couple of factors gave this rumor some more some extra attraction. First, this is Japan. Earthquakes are nothing new. Sean quakes have hit in in the Tokala Island chain in recent weeks. Many people still have the one that hit the Notto Peninsula fresh in mind. The meteorological agency says it was one of the 30 earthquakes with a magnitude of six or higher that hit the country last year alone. And of course, we will never forget 2011’s great East Japan earthquake. Those were devastating disasters and word of anything similar triggers concern. People in Japan, Hong Kong, and beyond have been a little more omage since March. That’s when a Japanese government panel panel uh revised its damage estimate for an anticipated mega quake. Scientists say there’s a high chance that it will happen in the Nangai trough of Japan’s coast within the next 30 years. The panel’s update and just the reality of Japan being prone to disasters helped boost the chatter on Tik Tok and other platforms, especially YouTube. Many videos about the rumor have been posted there, including one from the user with more than two million subscribers. Well, now it’s also worth uh pointing out that popular but baseless rumors of disasters are not a new concept. Yes, definitely not. I mean, it’s an age-old thing. Many in Japan are familiar with Nostradams and his prediction that mankind would collapse at the end of the 20th century. You probably remember people saying the end of the the Mayan Mayan calendar meant the world would end in 2012. And then just last summer, false information claiming a massive earthquake would hit Japan that season. The post on X got more than 35 million views. Right. So from uh stone tablets to computer tablets, this issue doesn’t appear to be going away and people will continue to come across these rumors. So what should we keep in mind in regards to the latest one? Well, I want to emphasize that colry there is no scientific way to predict an earthquake, at least not with a specific date, scale, and location. Yes, earthquakes have been happening one after another in Kagoshima Prefecture, but experts say they have nothing to do with rumors. And this may sound obvious, but they also say we should not spread false information. Some people take rumors as the truth. This causes unnecessary panic and stress. Though one thing many agree we should be spreading is the need to prepare for the for the worst at any time in Japan and across the world. Earthquakes and other disasters do not have social media accounts. Right. And don’t wait to see a post. Think about safety ahead of time and trust the science. Right. Well, that is a very important message. Thank you, Hioki. That was NHK World’s Okatani Hiroi. Thank you.
Despite an online rumor claiming that a major earthquake and tsunami would hit Japan on Saturday, no massive disaster occurred. NHK World’s Okatani Hiroki explains what gave the rumor extra traction. #japan #rumors #analysis
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