Western Japan's Sakurajima volcano erupts, alert level raised to 5

There were reports of volcanic stones raining down at a distance of 2.5 km from the volcano, NHK public television said.

A volcano on Japan's western major island of Kyushu, called Sakurajima, erupted at about 8:05 p.m. (1105 GMT) on Sunday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. No details were immediately available from JMA, reported Reuters.

Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes and eruptions of varying levels are frequent. (Photo for representational purpose only.)

There were reports of volcanic stones raining down at a distance of 2.5 km from the volcano, NHK public television said. The eruption alert level has been raised to 5, the highest, with some areas advised to evacuate, NHK said.

Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes and eruptions of varying levels are frequent. In 2019 it spewed ash 5.5 km high. Sakurajima is connected to the Osumi Peninsula of Kyushu, Japan’s southwestern main island.

Japan lies at the convergence of four tectonic plates, subjecting the nation to frequent volcanic eruptions and 20 per cent of the world's most powerful earthquakes.

The volcano also sits off the coast of Kagoshima, a city of about 600,000 people.