Hundreds of people in southern Japan were evacuated Monday as local authorities expected more eruptions from a volcano in the area, dpa reported.
About 610 people in the town of Takaharu on the southern island of Kyushu had been evacuated to four shelters as of Monday morning, Kyodo News reported citing local officials.
Town officials asked more than 1,100 residents around Shinmoedake, a mountain in the Kirishima volcanic range, to leave their homes late Sunday.
The recommendation was issued after the Japan Meteorological Agency said the lava dome on the 1,421-metre volcano had been rising.
Shinmoedake has been having small eruptions since Wednesday, spewing ash and rocks spewed in its first significant activity in 189 years.