Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on June 30 that Mount Hakone is active once again in Kanagawa Prefecture after discovering points of small-scale eruption in Owakudani region.

The JMA raised its alert level from 2 to 3 on its scale of 5, warning the community to stay away from the volcano and its crater.

On May 16, the agency also issued an evacuation order for an area about 300 metres in diameter from the crater of the volcano.

In Indonesia on June 29, the government deployed 500 military personnel to prevent people from entering the danger zone of Sinabung Mountain in Karo district, north Sumatra.

Colonel Asep Sukarna, Head of the Mt Sinabung eruption emergency response task force, said neither local residents nor refugees of Sinabung’s eruptions are allowed to enter villages located within a 7-kilometre radius of the volcano.

The volcano, which became active five years ago after over 400 years of dormancy, has forced more than 10,600 individuals from over 3,000 households in nearby areas to evacuate to 10 designated areas.-VNA