ABSTRACT
On June 14, 1974, Japanese newspapers reported that the leader of a new religious sect in Osaka had prophesied that an earthquake would occur on June 18 at 8:00 A.M. Members of his sect were reported to have distributed among the citizens of Osaka 100,000 copies of each of two leaflets concerning the prophesied disaster. The prophecy failed to come true and shortly thereafter the prophet attempted to commit suicide, an event that was given much attention by Japanese news media.
