James Bond Volcano Erupts After 52-Year Wait

James Bond buffs may recognize Mount Shinmoe as the site of the villainous massive underground rocket launch site in the 1967 movie, “You Only Live Twice.” In its recent smoke-belching appearances on television screens, the volcano has taken on a fresh, real-life menace that not even 007 himself could thwart.

First off, unlike in the film, this volcano isn’t extinct – it can seriously blow its top. And so Mount Shinmoe, in the Kirishima mountain range between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures in Japan’s southernmost main island Kyushu, erupted big-style Jan. 27 afternoon after it began small-scale activity the previous day. According to the Fukuoka District Meteorological Observatory and Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory, in charge of investigating the volcano’s activities, this is the first time in 52 years the volcano has erupted on an explosive scale.