A volcano on Japan's major western island of Kyushu erupted on Sunday evening, sending black smoke billowing high into the air, but there were no immediate reports of any damage or of anybody being hurt.
The volcano, which is called Sakurajima and is located on the southern tip of Kyushu near the city of Kagoshima, erupted at about 8:05 pm (11:05 GMT), the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
NHK public television cited reports of volcanic stones raining down at a distance of 2.5 km from the volcano. The eruption alert level has been raised to 5, the highest, with some areas advised to evacuate, it added.
Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes and eruptions of varying levels take place on a regular basis. In 2019 it spewed ash 5.5 km high.
There were no immediate reports of damage from Sunday's eruption, deputy chief cabinet secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki told a news conference, as government officials sought more information on the situation.
Nuclear regulators said there were no irregularities detected at the Sendai atomic plant, which lies about 50 km from the volcano.
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