Latest news with #Kagoshima
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Image of 'Japanese volcano spewing lava and ash' is AI-generated
After Mount Shinmoedake in southwestern Japan erupted on June 22, an image was shared in social media posts falsely claiming it showed lava and smoke spewing out of the volcano. The image, however, does not match livestream footage of the volcano and contains visual inconsistencies indicative of AI-generated content. "Japan's Shinmoedake volcano has erupted," reads part of the Sinhala-language caption of an image shared on Facebook on July 4, 2025. "A minor explosion was seen and due to this a plume of ash emerged 3,000 metres into the sky, and the cities across Kagoshima and Miyazaki are covered in dense smoke." The image supposedly shows lava and thick grey smoke spewing from the volcanic eruption. In the foreground there are red and white cars, and drivers and passengers who appear to have stepped out of the vehicles to witness the eruption. It surfaced after Mount Shinmoedake, a volcano in the Kirishima mountain range bordering Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures in southwestern Japan, erupted on June 22 (archived link). The same image was shared in similar posts elsewhere on Facebook. "Oh please, may no one in all of Japan face any trouble! May everyone be safe!" reads a comment on one of the posts. Another said: "May no harm come to all those in Japan." While Mount Shinmoedake has continued to emit smoke since its July 22 eruption, with plumes reportedly reaching 5,000 metres high, the image circulating online does show the volcano (archived link). The image does not correspond to livestream footage of the volcano on the YouTube channels of local broadcasters UMK TV Miyazaki or MBC viewed on July 21 (archived here and here). The Japan Times reported on July 9 that the country's meteorological agency had restricted access to the mountain, and warned that a "large amount of volcanic ash and lava flows will be expected if a full-scale magmatic eruption occurs" (archived link). Moreover, inconsistencies in the picture suggest it was created with the help of AI. Visual anomalies A closer analysis of the falsely shared image shows the doors on a white car in the foreground are positioned incorrectly on the vehicle and the people standing on the road appear to be missing limbs. A subsequent keyword search led to a YouTube video titled "Japanese volcano erupts, spewing lava", which contains the falsely shared image, posted on July 4 (archived link). The video, which was shared on a channel that posts AI-generated content, contains additional visual inconsistencies. For example, a white car enters the bottom of the frame at the three-second mark and crashes into the vehicle in front before immediately disappearing. In reply to a comment on the video, the user also indicated it was created using AI. While generative AI technology is rapidly improving, visual inconsistencies persist and are the best way to identify fabricated content.
NHK
6 days ago
- NHK
Some evacuees from quake-hit Japanese remote island chain returning home
Some residents who evacuated from a quake-hit remote island chain in Japan's southwestern Kagoshima Prefecture began heading home on Wednesday. Since June 21, seismic activity has intensified around the Tokara island chain. Evacuations started on July 4 on a voluntary basis among residents of the islands of Akusekijima and Kodakarajima. The islets are part of Toshima Village in Kagoshima Prefecture. As of Wednesday, a total of 67 islanders were staying in hotels in Kagoshima City on the main island of Kyushu, and elsewhere. Amid increasing requests to return home, 16 Akusekijima residents boarded a village-run ferry at the Kagoshima port. A fisherman in his 70s expressed concern, saying: "I'm still worried about tremors continuing in the region. I left my fishing boat at sea and thought it would be safer to move it ashore because of typhoons and other risks. I want to thank the people who offered me various kinds of support during the evacuation." The ferry left the port at 11 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive on Akusekijima Island after 9 a.m. on Thursday. Village officials say some residents who wished to return home said their children felt stressed from staying for a long time in a hotel. Others said they were now able to sleep well and their health had improved. The village says more people are requesting to return on a ferry due to leave the port on Friday. It says it will work to grasp who wish to return, and continue to provide them with support.
NHK
7 days ago
- Climate
- NHK
Japan's Tokara Islands hit by 2,000 quakes since June 21
More than 2,000 earthquakes that can be felt by humans have recently struck around a southwestern Japanese island chain. Weather officials are calling on people to remain vigilant for more earthquakes that could register lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of zero to seven. Seismic activity has intensified since June 21 around Akusekijima Island and Kodakarajima Island in the Tokara Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture. A quake measuring lower 6 hit Akusekijima Island on July 3, followed by two jolts with intensities of upper 5 on July 6. Another quake registering lower 5 struck the island on July 7. The Japan Meteorological Agency says that as of 11 a.m. on Wednesday, a total of 2,087 tremors with intensities of one or higher have been observed in the sea off the Tokara Islands since June 21. This week alone, there were 40 on Monday, 31 on Tuesday, and 11 up to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, including one measuring 4 on Akusekijima Island that occurred after 2 a.m. The sea off the island chain saw a series of earthquakes in 2021 and 2023. But the number of recent jolts has far exceeded the past figures.
NHK
15-07-2025
- Climate
- NHK
Tremors shaking Japan's Tokara island chain top 2,000
Weather officials in Japan say the number of tremors that can be felt by humans has topped 2,000 around the Tokara island chain in the country's southwest. The officials are calling for people to remain vigilant for more earthquakes that could measure lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of zero to 7. Seismic activity intensified on June 21 around the islands of Akusekijima and Kodakarajima, which are part of Toshima Village in Kagoshima Prefecture. A powerful earthquake measuring lower 6 hit Akusekijima on July 3, followed by two jolts with intensities of upper 5 on July 6. Another quake measuring lower 5 struck on July 7. The Japan Meteorological Agency says that a total of 2,046 tremors with intensities of one or higher have been observed in the sea off the Tokara islands as of 4 a.m. Tuesday. There were 83 on Sunday, 39 on Monday and two on Tuesday as of 4 a.m. The sea off the island chain went through a series of earthquakes in 2021 and again in 2023. But the current swarm has been far larger in terms of the number of jolts.
Japan Times
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Japan taps ASDF chief as new top uniformed officer
The government has appointed Gen. Hiroaki Uchikura as the next chief of staff of the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff — a key post that will work closely with the Self-Defense Force's new Joint Operations Command amid the growing military challenge from China. The appointment, which was approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, will take effect on Aug. 1. Uchikura, 60, who currently serves as chief of staff of the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF), will succeed retiring Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, 62, who has held the post since March 2023. Hiroaki Uchikura, a native of Kagoshima Prefecture, graduated from the National Defense Academy in 1987, joining the Air Self-Defense Force and later serving as ASDF vice chief of staff and head of the Air Defense Command. Uchikura will take the reins as the country's top uniformed officer as the SDF undergoes dramatic transformations to respond to what the Defense Ministry has characterized as 'a new era of crisis' — including China's military muscle-flexing in the region and growing uncertainty about the U.S.-Japan alliance. He will also play a key role in working with Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo, head of the new permanent Joint Operations Command. Known as JJOC, the command was established in March to centrally oversee the SDF's three branches, allowing for the smoother integration of operations across domains to prepare for and respond to possible emergencies — including a crisis over democratic Taiwan. But Uchikura will have big shoes to fill. Yoshida was the first officer who was not a graduate of the National Defense Academy to be appointed head of the Joint Staff, and played a key role in pushing for even stronger cooperation with Tokyo's like-minded neighbors while boosting the deterrence and response capabilities of the U.S.-Japan alliance. Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff of the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff, speaks during a trilateral chiefs of defense meeting with his U.S. and South Korean counterparts at the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Friday. | POOL / VIA AFP-JIJI The Cabinet also approved the appointment of Gen. Takehiro Morita as the new ASDF head, and named Gen. Masayoshi Arai to replace retiring Ground Self-Defense Force chief Yasunori Morishita. It also announced that Taro Yamato, who leads the Defense Ministry's policy bureau, will replace retiring Administrative Vice Minister of Defense Kazuo Masuda as the ministry's top bureaucrat, while Hajime Aoyagi will take up the helm of the ministry's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency.
