Large clouds of smoke billow from Japan’s most famous mountain. In no time, volcanic ash spreads to the heavily populated capital of Tokyo, fogging up the air and blanketing buildings and vehicles.

A powerful eruption rocked Japan as the Sakurajima volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture blasted a towering ash plume 4,400 meters into the sky. The explosion, which occurred around 12:57 AM, marks the most ...