TOKYO, July 12 (Xinhua) -- A small eruption occurred on an uninhabited Japanese island in the Pacific Ocean located about 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo, the Japan Coast Guard and the weather agency here said Thursday.
Brown smoke was spotted by a Japan Coast Guard (JCG) aircraft rising from a crater on Nishinoshima at around 12:24 p.m., local time, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
Nishinoshima last erupted in 2013 but volcanic activity on the uninhabited island has been quiet since August 2017.
The JMA, therefore, had lowered its alert level for areas surrounding its crater.
The weather agency believes that no pyroclastic flow or lava was released as a result of this minor eruption.
