--- description: Eruptions at Japan's Mount Shinmoedake volcano have gotten more violent, leading officials to warn people not to approach the volcano. title: Eruptions at Japan's Mount Shinmoedake Are Intensifying image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59e2a16c4f5f78e2/69892a6586f68e7c7a6e88e7/japan-volcano-eruption1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Japan](/tag/japan/) ## Japan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Locals Warned of Flying Rocks as Eruptions at Japan's Mount Shinmoedake Volcano Intensify  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Mar 10, 2018 3:13 PM CUT  The Shinmoedake volcano after its eruption on March 6, 2018 The Shinmoedake volcano after its eruption on March 6, 2018AP/REX/Shutterstock  by [Jamie Ducharme](/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Mar 10, 2018 3:13 PM CUT Officials are warning people to stay away from Mount Shinmoedake, as the Japanese volcano’s eruptions continue to intensify. The volcano [had its largest eruption in years](http://time.com/5188592/shinmoedake-volcano-eruption-japan/ "undefined") on Tuesday, grounding flights as the sky filled with volcanic smoke and ash reaching heights of up to 7,500 feet. Days later, eruptions have only become more violent, causing strong vibrations in the surrounding area and sending molten lava cascading down one side of Mount Shinmoedake, [according to the BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43356337 "undefined"). The Japanese Meteorological Agency [issued an alert early Saturday](http://www.jma.go.jp/en/volcano/ "undefined") warning individuals not to approach the active volcano, though the advisory has not yet approached evacuation levels. The agency said rocks could fly as far as 2.5 miles from the eruption site, the BBC reports, and [volcanic activity](http://time.com/4982184/supervolcano-yellowstone-erupt/ "undefined") could continue for months. Mount Shinmoedake, which is on Japan’s Kyushu Island, famously appeared in the 1967 James Bond film _You Only Live Twice_. It had its last major eruption in 2011. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5194277/mount-shinmoedake-volcano-eruption-in-japan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5194277/mount-shinmoedake-volcano-eruption-in-japan/"},"headline":"Locals Warned of Flying Rocks as Eruptions at Japan's Mount Shinmoedake Volcano Intensify","datePublished":"2018-03-10T15:13:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:36:19.354Z","description":"Rocks could fly more than two miles","url":"https://time.com/5194277/mount-shinmoedake-volcano-eruption-in-japan/","keywords":["Japan","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59e2a16c4f5f78e2/69892a6586f68e7c7a6e88e7/japan-volcano-eruption1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59e2a16c4f5f78e2/69892a6586f68e7c7a6e88e7/japan-volcano-eruption1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Volcano, Kirishima, Japan - 06 Mar 2018","caption":"Volcano, Kirishima, Japan - 06 Mar 2018","creditText":"AP/REX/Shutterstock","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/japan/","name":"Japan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5194277/mount-shinmoedake-volcano-eruption-in-japan/","name":"Locals Warned of Flying Rocks as Eruptions at Japan's Mount Shinmoedake Volcano Intensify"}}]}] ```