Japanese Volcano Erupts NEW RAW VIDEO - Shinmoedake - 2011

Japanese volcano erupts A volcano in southwestern Japan erupted Sunday after nearly two weeks of relative silence, sending ash and rocks up to four kilometres (two and a half miles) into the air, a local official says. Smoke rises from Shinmoedake peak, a mountain in the Kirishima volcanic range between Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures. It was not immediately clear if the eruption was a direct result of the massive earthquake that rocked northern areas Friday, unleashing a fierce tsunami and sparking fears that more than 10,000 may have been killed. The 1,421-metre (4,689-feet) Shinmoedake volcano in the Kirishima range saw its first major eruption for 52 years in January. There had not been any major activity at the site since March 1.