Light ashfall points to volcano eruption in central Japan; no damage reports

A light scattering of ash pointed to an eruption of the most active volcano on Japan's main island of Honshu, weather authorities said on Tuesday, warning against further eruptions, although no injuries or damage were reported. The small eruption at the 2,570-m (8,425-ft) high Mount Asama, about 140 km (90 miles) from the capital, Tokyo, comes at a time of heightened volcanic activity in Japan and less than a year after 63 people died in the eruption of another peak. Asama's last eruption, in 2009, ran for several months, during which it intermittently ejected rocks up to 1 km (0.6 miles) away, and sent up a massive cloud of ash, some of which drifted as far as Tokyo.

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