A volcano erupted on Friday, spewing black clouds of ash and rock towering into the sky from Mount Shindake on Kuchinoerabu island in southern Japan. (Photo: AP)
A military helicopter was sent to survey the island and assess damage. Chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Tokyo that the Coast Guard had dispatched a ship to help evacuate the residents. (Photo: AP)
The agency raised the volcano alert level for Kuchinoberu island, where Shindake is located, to five, the highest on its scale. Shindake also erupted in August last year for the first time since 1980. (Photo: AP)
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, center, answers a reporter's question on an eruption of a volcano in southern Japan, at prime minister's official residence in Tokyo. (Photo: AP)
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announces governmental response to an eruption of a volcano in southern Japan, at his official residence in Tokyo. Mount Shindake on Kuchinoerabu island erupted, spewing black clouds of ash and rock towering into
No injuries were reported after Mount Shindake erupted about 10 a.m. (0100 GMT) in spectacular fashion, sending dense pyroclastic flows of rock and hot gases seaward, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported. (Photo: AP)
The volcano erupted on the small island about 10 a.m. local time Friday, spewing black clouds of ash and rock towering into the sky and prompting authorities to tell residents to evacuate the island. (Photo: AP)