Experts voiced guarded optimism Monday that a life-threatening eruption of Mount Sakurajima is not imminent, despite the volcano¡¯s dramatic outburst in Kagoshima Prefecture the previous day.
Sakurajima, a quasi-island next to the city of Kagoshima, is in a virtually constant state of eruption and has logged 500 outbursts so far this year.
Sunday afternoon¡¯s explosion sent a plume of smoke and ash 5 km into the sky, this time from the volcano¡¯s Showa vent, which became active in 2006 after years of dormancy. The plume¡¯s altitude was the highest from the Showa vent ever recorded, said the Meteorological Agency, which started collecting data in 2006.
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