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Volcano in southern Japan erupts
The Shinmoedake volcano on Japan's Kyushu island, after lying dormant for a couple of weeks, resumes activity in a blast heard miles away. It was unclear if the eruption was linked to Friday's massive earthquake in the north.

Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a warning that the Shinmoedake volcano, shown in Feb. 2011, resumed activity after lying dormant for a couple of weeks. It was unclear if the eruption was linked to the country's massive earthquake.

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By Molly Hennessy-Fiske
Los Angeles Times

March 13, 2011, 11:08 a.m.
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The Japanese weather agency has reported that a volcano in southern Japan began spewing ash and rock even as the country struggled to recover Sunday from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a warning Sunday that the Shinmoedake volcano resumed activity after lying dormant for a couple of weeks.

The volcano is on Kyushu island, about 950 miles from the epicenter of Friday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which devastated much of the country's northeastern coast.

Photos: Scenes of earthquake destruction

It was unclear if the eruptions were linked to quake, officials said. Japan lies on the "ring of fire," a seismically active zone where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common.

The volcano last erupted Jan. 19 after remaining dormant for two years. Volcanologists had warned that a "lava dome" was growing inside the volcano's crater, although it was uncertain when or if the volcano would erupt.

Sunday's eruption, which was the biggest volcanic activity in Shinmoedake in 52 years, caused widespread destruction and panic. The blast could be heard for miles, and shattered windows four miles away, the BBC reported. Hundreds of people fled the area as the volcano spewed debris, including hot ash and rocks, more than 6,000 feet in the air, according to BBC reports.

9.43pm: Despite the insistence of the Japanese government that the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant is unlikely to turn into another Chernobyl, nuclear experts are beginning to throw doubt on the accuracy of official information being issued.

They claim that it follows a pattern of secrecy and cover-ups employed in other nuclear accidents, report John Vidal and Damian Carrington of the Guardian.

"It's impossible to get any radiation readings," they were told John Large, an independent nuclear engineer who has worked for the UK government and has been commissioned to report on the accident for Greenpeace International.

The Guardian has also posted a newly released diplomatic cable obtained by WikiLeaks, which records that a high profile Japanese politician told US diplomats that the Japanese government department responsible for nuclear energy – has been "covering up nuclear accidents and obscuring the true costs and problems associated with the nuclear industry".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/20 ... intcmp=239