Another powerful eruption was observed at Mt. Shimmoe in southwestern Japan early Thursday, with ash spewing up to around 5,000 meters high, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The eruption at the 1,421-meter-high volcano that straddles Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures on the southwestern Japan main island of Kyushu was the biggest since March 25, according to the agency.

Mt. Shimmoe erupted violently for the first time in about seven years on March 6, and the agency said a week later that it was expected to continue explosive eruptions for several months or more.

The agency maintained the alert level at the volcano at 3, which restricts access to the mountain, and issued warnings against large flying rocks within 3 kilometers of the crater and pyroclastic flow within 2 km of the crater.

Following the latest eruption at 3:31 a.m., rocks flew within around 1.1 km of the crater and the agency confirmed volcanic lighting caused by friction created by ash particles. It asked locals to be careful about volcanic ash and small rocks mainly on the leeward side.