Mount Aso: Japanese volcano erupts spewing ash far into the sky

A volcano in Japan has erupted sending a huge ash cloud 3.5 km (2.2 miles) into the sky.

Mount Aso is located on Japan's southern island of Kyushu, and erupted on Wednesday just before midday there.

Officials have said there may be a danger of lava flows and falling rocks, but so far there were no reports of people being injured.

Ash has been falling in nearby towns in the region of Kumamoto and the alert level has been raised to three on a scale of five, which tells people not to go near the area.

Mount Aso last erupted in 2019, but this is a much larger seismic event.

Japan experiences a lot of volcanic eruptions each year, with over 100 active volcanos in the country.

Earthquakes are also common with about 20 percent of the world's largest earthquakes (rated six or higher on the Richter scale, which measures how powerful a quake is) happening in Japan.