Volcano erupts in Japan

With thick grey smoke spewing into the sky, a volcano in central Japan erupted Saturday, injuring eight visitors at the site.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that it had upgraded its five-stage volcanic alert level to three and urged people not to approach the mountain, Xinhua reported.

The JMA said that further eruptions may affect nearby residents and warned of large volcanic cinders falling within a four kilometre radius of the crater.

The volcano's last eruption was in 1979 when it expelled over 200,000 tonnes of ash.

It also had a minor eruption in 1991 and it caused multiple volcanic earthquakes in 2007.