Kumamoto tourism industry takes another hit with eruption of Mount Aso

Still reeling from a series of earthquakes beginning in April, Kumamoto Prefecture is once again experiencing nature’s fury, this time in the form of Mount Aso’s eruption Saturday. Besides being on high alert for another volcanic eruption, Kumamoto residents are growing increasingly concerned about the long-term prospects for the prefecture’s tourism industry, which has yet to recover to pre-quake levels. Saturday’s eruption occurred around 1:46 a.m. on one of the peaks of the 1,592-meter-high mountain, belching a column of ash 11,000 meters into the air, the Meteorological Agency said. (Image: Reproduction/ANN) While there were no reports of injuries, it was the first explosive eruption on that particular peak since January 1980. The agency raised the alert level for the volcano to level 3 on a scale of 5 and urged people not to approach the mountain. “If eruptions continue, tourists will inevitably decrease,” a local tourism official lamented, adding that...