An alert has been raised after a Japanese volcano began spewing plumes of smoke and ash 11km (6.8 miles) into the sky.
Pictures on Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed fires burning in several locations on Mount Aso on the island of Kyushu, Kumamoto Prefecture.
There have been reports an explosion blew off bits of volcanic rock and ash.
Japan's Meteorological Agency has raised its alert to Level 3, banning people from the mountain.
Officials in Aso city, about 10km (six miles) north of the volcano, have set up evacuation centres as a precaution.
There are no homes within the off-limits area and no injuries or major damage have been reported, though buildings and cars have been covered with thick ash.
Flights have been largely unaffected, except for some delays.
Residents have been washing ash from external walls, plants and the streets, and there have been media reports of ash falls in parts of western Japan.
A window at a youth centre a few kilometres away from the mountain suffered a crack, apparently from volcanic rocks.
The volcano came to life in 2014 when it began spewing volcanic rocks and it last erupted a year ago, leading officials to ban travel within a mile of the mountain.
It is not known if the volcano's recent activity is related to earthquakes that rattled Japan in August, but meteorologists say the mountain remains in an unstable condition and could erupt again.
