A small volcanic eruption occurred today on Mount Tokachi in Hokkaido Prefecture, located in northernmost Japan, for the first time since 2004.

The regional office of the Japan Meteorological Agency in Sapporo – as reported by NHK – said that black smoke was observed rising 200 meters into the air from a crater located about one kilometer northwest of the mountain's summit at 11:07 a.m. local time today. The broadcaster added that volcanic tremors lasting about 45 seconds were detected, but it has not yet been confirmed whether there were any large volcanic ejecta, noting that the warning level for Mount Tokachi was raised to level 2 last month due to increased seismic activity around the crater.

The broadcaster noted that Japanese meteorological officials intend to keep the warning level at level 2, warning of the possibility of further minor eruptions.