Japanese volcano Mount Sakurajima erupts in burning ring of fire

Mount Sakurajima, in the south-western tip of Kyushu, lies about 30 miles from the Sendai nuclear power station

Mount Sakurajima erupts in the south-western tip of Kyushu (Reuters)

One of Japan’s most active volcanos has erupted in spectacular fashion, shooting ash a mile into the air and sending lava rolling down its slopes.

The meteorological agency banned entry to the area and expanded the existing no-go zone around the crater to a 1.2-mile radius, according to the public broadcaster NHK. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Mount Sakurajima, in the south-western tip of Kyushu, lies about 30 miles from the Sendai nuclear power station, run by Kyushu Electric Power, but the company said the eruption had not affected the plant or its operations.

Kazuhiro Ishihara, a volcanologist from Kyoto University, told NHK that the ash and smoke rose just over a mile into the air, about half the height measured in 2013 during one of the mountain’s biggest recent eruptions.

Japan sits above the “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin, and has more than 100 volcanoes.

AP