Eruptions from an underwater volcano have created a new island off the coast of Japan. The islet lies in the Ogasawara island chain more than 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean, according to Asahi Shimbun. It quoted the Maritime Self-Defence Force's air base on Iwoto island, previously known as Iwojima Island, as saying that the new isle emerged on November 1. Iwojima was the site of a major battle in the Second World War.
The personnel on Iwojima heard a loud noise, saw sand sent high in the air as the new island as created.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said it has detected tremors on Iwoto Island every few minutes since October 21, after which the volcanic eruptions were reported, the Asahi Shimbun report said.
The new island was formed near the crater of the undersea volcano.
"It is possible that a large amount of rocks and stones ejected from the crater on the seafloor accumulated and created the islet," a JMA official told the outlet.
New islands have emerged in the region in the past but all of them submerged within months due to harsh sea conditions.
This islet is the first in the region since 1986.
Volcanic eruptions are continuing and officials have warned of smoke and large ash deposit in the region due to it.
Earlier this year, digital mapping led to around 7,000 new islands being discovered around Japan, as per a report in The Guardian. The islands were found after the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan conducted a survey - the first of its kind in 35 years.
However, it had no impact on the size of Japan's territory of 37,000 square kilometres.
