Email
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
Link<\/p>\n
Tokyo
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n Large clouds of smoke billow from Japan\u2019s<\/a> most famous mountain.\n <\/p>\n \n In no time, volcanic ash spreads to the heavily populated capital of Tokyo, fogging up the air and blanketing buildings and vehicles.\n <\/p>\n \n This is all from an AI-generated video released by Japan\u2019s government to warn Tokyo\u2019s 20 million residents what to expect if Mount Fuji, the breathtakingly beautiful volcano that looms over their city, ever erupts.\n <\/p>\n \n While there is no suggestion that an eruption is imminent, Fuji is an active volcano. It last erupted 318 years ago, in what is known as the Hoei eruption.\n <\/p>\n \n The AI-video, released on Sunday by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government\u2019s Disaster Prevention Division, shows a woman in a bustling street suddenly receiving a warning on her phone informing her the volcano has erupted.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe moment may arrive without any warning,\u201d says the narration, before the video cuts to dramatic visuals of large clouds of smoke emitting from Fuji.\n <\/p>\n \n The video warns that volcanic ash could reach Tokyo within two hours, causing health hazards as well as disruptions on to power supplies, traffic and food distribution.\n <\/p>\n \n The government\u2019s cabinet office released a separate simulation video Tuesday \u2013 Japan\u2019s Volcano Disaster Prevention Day \u2013 urging people to \u201cvisualize specific scenarios\u201d so that they could be better prepared.\n <\/p>\n \n Japan is no stranger to severe earthquakes and volcanoes. It lies on the Ring of Fire<\/a>, an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.\n <\/p>\n \n Authorities have stepped up their cautionary tone in the past year in the hope of raising citizens\u2019 alertness levels.\n <\/p>\n \n Fears of a \u201cbig one\u201d have been mounting since the Japanese government warned in January that there was an 80% chance of a severe earthquake hitting the country\u2019s southern Nankai Trough within 30 years. Some seismologists have been critical of these warnings<\/a>, questioning whether they can ever be accurate.\n <\/p>\n \n Some residents expressed worries following the Fuji video.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe thought of volcanic ash causing transportation chaos in the Tokyo metropolitan area is terrifying,\u201d said an internet user identified as Mayotan on X.\n <\/p>\n \n Another X user identifying himself as Suu noted both the importance and challenges in getting prepared. \u201cCassette stove, flashlight, water, food.\u201d But, they noted it \u201cwould be hard\u201d to have the power go out in the summer, when temperatures in Japan soar to sweltering levels.\n <\/p>\n \n Some viewed the Japanese authorities\u2019 approach as alarmist, with well-intended warnings turning into deterrents for some tourists in the past few months.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt tends to be used to stir up a sense of crisis and fear,\u201d wrote user with X handle shomin_consul.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Japan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fuji-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n