TOKYO - Mount Shinmoe on the southwestern Japan main island of Kyushu erupted on Thursday, with plumes rising to 5,500 meters above the volcano's peak, local media reported.

The 1,421-meter volcano straddling Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures erupted at 4:53 am local time, sending volcanic material 5,000 meters above the crater for the first time since July 3, Kyodo News reported, citing a local office of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

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The JMA maintained the level 3 alert on a scale of 5, calling on the public to refrain from approaching the crater in both Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, the report said.

Mt Shinmoe, one of 50 constantly monitored active volcanoes in Japan, erupted on June 22 for the first time since June 2018.