Smoke rises from a volcano of Shinmoedake, in Miyazaki, Japan

A Japanese volcano that was used as alair by James Bond's nemesis has erupted, sending a plume of smoke thousands of metres into the air.Shinmoedake erupted for the first time since April on Friday, less than a week after a strong earthquake shook the west of Japan.Television images showed smoke and ash rising into the air above peak of thevolcano, which was used as the setting for Ernst Stavro Blofeld's secret lair in the 1967 film You Only Live Twice.Rock was thrown around 1,100 metres (3,609ft) from the mountain, according to TBS television.
The volcano is located in Kagoshima Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, 616 miles from the Japanese capital ofTokyo.It is believed to have formed between 7,300 and 25,000 years ago.
In the film, MI6 agent Bond - played by Sean Connery - is dispatched to Japan to investigate after American and Soviet manned spacecraft mysteriouslydisappear whilst in orbit.The Shinmoedake crater acted as a hidden base, from which Blofeld launched his own spacecraft to intercept and capture the US and Sovietshuttles.It erupted last year and has done so on several occasions this year, putting residents in the mainly rural area on notice with restricted access to the 1,421m (4,662ft) mountain.