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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, but media said there were no immediate reports of damage.

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Sakurajima Volcano lets off some steam. About 7 thousand people live at the foot of this volcano, and Kagoshima city with a population of about half a million is located only ten kilometers to the west. Major eruptions occurred in 1476, 1779, 1914, 1946 and a smaller one in 1955, but the area within two kilometers of the summit remains an "off-limit zone". Sakurajima is 12 kilometers in diameter from east to west and 10 kilometers from north to south, with a circumference of 55 kilometers. The North Peak of the Sakurajima Volcano is 1117 meters (3665 feet), the Middle Peak is 1060 meters (3478 feet), and the South Peak is 1040 meters (3412 feet). 

Sakurajima Volcano lets off some steam. About 7 thousand people live at the foot of this volcano, and Kagoshima city with a population of about half a million is located only ten kilometers to the west. Major eruptions occurred in 1476, 1779, 1914, 1946 and a smaller one in 1955, but the area within two kilometers of the summit remains an "off-limit zone". Sakurajima is 12 kilometers in diameter from east to west and 10 kilometers from north to south, with a circumference of 55 kilometers. The North Peak of the Sakurajima Volcano is 1117 meters (3665 feet), the Middle Peak is 1060 meters (3478 feet), and the South Peak is 1040 meters (3412 feet).  ((Photo by Gerhard Joren/LightRocket via Getty Images))

There were reports of volanic stones [sic] raining down at a distance of 2.5 km (1.5 miles) 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.

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Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes and eruptions of varying levels are frequent. In 2019 it spewed ash 5.5 km (3.4 miles) high.

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