It is just off the coast of Nishinoshima, a small, uninhabited island in the Ogasawara chain, which is also known as the Bonin Islands.

The approximately 30 islands are 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo, and along with the rest of Japan are part of the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire." The news of yet another tiny bit of new territory was The coast guard yesterday issued an advisory warning of heavy black smoke from the eruption.