JMA raised the Alert Level for Yakedake to 2 (on a scale of 1-5) on 24 May, noting that the number of small volcanic earthquakes with epicenters near the summit began increasing around 2300 the day before. The report also noted that minor inflation near the summit was continuing. Daily small volcanic earthquakes continued to be counted through 31 May.

Geological Summary. Yakedake rises above the popular resort of Kamikochi in the Northern Japan Alps. The small dominantly andesitic stratovolcano, one of several Japanese volcanoes named Yakedake or Yakeyama ("Burning Peak" or "Burning Mountain"), was constructed astride a N-S-trending ridge between the older volcanoes of Warudaniyama and Shirataniyama. Akandanayama, about 4 km SSW, is a stratovolcano with lava domes that was active into the Holocene. A 300-m-wide crater is located at the summit, and explosion craters are found on the SE and N flanks. Frequent small-to-moderate phreatic eruptions have occurred during the 20th century. On 11 February 1995 a hydrothermal explosion in a geothermal area killed two people at a highway construction site.

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)