The Japan Meteorological Agency said Mount Otake, located on Suwanose Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, began erupting at 00:22 local time on January 14, according to Kyodo news agency. There were no immediate reports of casualties and no evacuation orders.
However, the Japan Meteorological Agency urged local residents to "refrain from entering dangerous areas".
Otake volcano eruption 2020
Following the eruption, the Japan Meteorological Agency raised the volcanic alert level by one notch, to level 3 on a scale of 5. Level 3 means people should not go near the crater.
The agency also warned that large rocks could fly into the air within a radius of about 2 km from the crater.
The Japanese government has set up a liaison office at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's office to gather information, according to Kyodo.
Japan lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of intense seismic and volcanic activity that extends into Southeast Asia and across the Pacific region.
On January 1, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake and tsunami devastated the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on Japan's west-central coast. At least 220 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster.
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