A volcano on Sakurajima in southwestern Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture erupted early on Sunday morning, spewing ash and smoke up to 4,400 metres into the atmosphere, according to Kyodo News.

As the eruption continued, the weather agency issued an ashfall forecast for parts of Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki prefectures. However, no injuries or building damages have been reported.

“An explosive eruption around 12:57am (8:57am PKT) on Sunday at the Minamidake crater sent a plume rising above 4,000m for the first time since October 18 last year,” the news agency said citing the local meteorological observatory.

In the latest series of eruptions, large volcanic rocks flew “as far as the fifth station”, but no pyroclastic flows were detected, said Kyodo News. It added that the alert level remains at a three on a scale of five, restricting access to the mountain.

Sakurajima is one of Japan’s most active volcanoes and is linked to the Osumi Peninsula on Kyushu, the country’s southwestern main island. The agency adds that it was once an island, but a land bridge to the peninsula was created by a lava flow in 1914.