Tokyo, Japan: Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture erupted in the early hours of Sunday, blasting a towering column of ash and smoke up to 4,400 metres into the sky, according to Japan’s Meteorological Agency, as reported by Kyodo News.
The eruption, which began around 12:57 am at the Minamidake crater, marked the first plume exceeding 4,000 metres since October last year. The activity continued afterward, prompting ashfall advisories for parts of Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki prefectures. No injuries or structural damage have been reported so far.
Large volcanic rocks were expelled as far as the mountain’s fifth station, though no pyroclastic flows were detected. Authorities have maintained the alert level at 3 out of 5, restricting entry to the volcano.
Sakurajima, among Japan’s most active volcanoes, was originally an island until a massive 1914 lava flow connected it to the Osumi Peninsula on Kyushu.
The development comes months after Japan released a government-produced simulation video depicting the potential impact of a major eruption of Mt. Fuji.
The 10-minute CGI footage—modelled after the volcano’s last eruption in 1707—warns of severe disruption to power, water systems, transportation networks, and daily life.
In the video, University of Tokyo professor emeritus Toshitsugu Fujii notes that it is “unusual” for Mt. Fuji to remain quiet for over 300 years, given its historical pattern of erupting roughly once every 30 years.
