Tokyo, Nov. 17 -- A volcano on Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, erupted early Sunday morning, sending a plume of ash and smoke up to 4,400 meters into the atmosphere, Kyodo News reported the weather agency as saying.

The eruption continued after the initial event, prompting the agency to issue an ashfall forecast for parts of Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki prefectures. No injuries or damage to buildings have been reported.

An explosive eruption around 12:57 am (local time) on Sunday at the Minamidake crater sent a plume rising above 4,000 meters for the first time since October 18 last year, according to the local meteorological observatory.

In the latest series of eruptions, large volcanic rocks flew as far as...