Volcanoes of Ryukyu Islands (14)

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Significant volcanic eruptions: Ryukyu Islands

In historic times, at least 7 volcanoes have been active in Ryukyu Islands, including Kikai, Kuchinoerabu-jima, and Suwanose-jima volcanoes. A total of 67 eruptions have been witnessed and documented since around 1664 AD.
The table below lists the most recent volcanic eruptions, significant eruptive episodes or related events in Ryukyu Islands since around 1990.

Date	Volcano	VEI	Region
2004 Oct 23 - ongoing	Suwanose-jima O-take	2	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
2024 Sep 1 - Oct 17	Kikai	?	Japan
2020 Oct 6	Kikai	1	Japan
2020 Aug 29	Kuchinoerabu-jima	1	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
2020 Jan 11 - May 13	Kuchinoerabu-jima	3	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
2020 Apr 29	Kikai	1	Japan
2019 Nov 2	Kikai	2	Japan
2018 Oct 21 - 2019 Feb 3	Kuchinoerabu-jima Shindake Crater	3	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
2015 May 29 - Jun 19	Kuchinoerabu-jima Shindake crater	3	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
2014 Aug 3	Kuchinoerabu-jima Shindake	1	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
2013 Jun 4	Kikai Iodake	1	Japan
2004 Mar 5 - Oct 16 ±15 d.	Kikai Iwo-dake	2	Japan
2000 Dec 19 - 2004 Jul 5 ?	Suwanose-jima O-take (Upper NE flank)	3?	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
2003 Feb 16 ±15 d. - Oct 16 ±15 d.	Kikai Iwo-dake	2	Japan
2002 May 11 - Jul 16 ±15 d.	Kikai Iwo-dake	2	Japan
2000 Oct 16 ±15 d. - 2001 Dec 16 ±15 d.	Kikai Iwo-dake	1	Japan
2000 Jan 16 ±15 d. - Mar 16 ±15 d.	Kikai Iwo-dake	2?	Japan
2000 Feb 24 ±4 d.	Suwanose-jima O-take	2?	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
1998 Apr 25 - 1999 Aug 16 ±15 d.	Kikai Iwo-dake	2	Japan
1999 Jun 15 ±5 d. - Jun 30 ±4 d.	Suwanose-jima O-take	1?	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
1999 Jan 5 ±5 d. - Feb 24 ±4 d.	Suwanose-jima O-take	1?	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
1997 Jul 2 ±182 d.	Kikai Iwo-dake	1?	Japan
1996 Dec 26 - 1997 Apr 17	Suwanose-jima O-take	1	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
1990 Apr 16 ±15 d. - 1996 Jul 14	Suwanose-jima O-take	2	Ryukyu Islands (Japan)

Remark:

Our list of volcanic eruptions closely follows the database of eruptions of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP), the internationally most recognized data source for volcanic eruptions, but also includes significant eruptive episodes or related volcano events. "Volcanic eruptions" are usually to be understood as sequences of individual eruptive episodes that can follow each other, or even overlap (if several vents are involved), and can last many years, decades or even longer. For example, the current activity of Stromboli volcano is understood as a single eruption that has been ongoing since 1934.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K | Global Volcanism Project / Smithsonian Institution

Ryukyu Islands FAQ

+When was the last volcanic eruption in Ryukyu Islands?

The last volcanic eruption in Ryukyu Islands was from Kikai volcano in 2024.

+When was the first documented volcanic eruption in Ryukyu Islands?

The first historically documented eruption occurred around 1664 AD from Io-Torishima volcano.

+How often do volcanoes in Ryukyu Islands erupt?

Since 1664 AD, Ryukyu Islands has seen at least 67 historically documented eruptions. This means that a volcano erupts on average every 5.4 years.

+How active are the volcanoes in Ryukyu Islands?

Ryukyu Islands is volcanically very active: Since 1900, at least 6 volcanoes in Ryukyu Islands have been active.Since 1900, Ryukyu Islands has had 54 volcanic eruptions from 6 individual volcanoes. Volcanic eruptions have been recorded erupted during 89 years out of 126 as of now. This means, at least one volcano in Ryukyu Islands has been in eruption in one in 1.4 years on average. The last volcano to erupt in Ryukyu Islands was Kikai volcano, which erupted in 2024, 10 months ago.

+When was the largest volcanic eruption in Ryukyu Islands?

The largest eruption in Ryukyu Islands in historic times was from Kuchinoerabu-jima volcano. It occurred during 1933 - 1934. It ranks as a sub-plinian eruption with a magnitude 4 on the VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale.

Volcano List

Akuseki-jima

(stratovolcanoes 584 m/ 1,916 ft)

Akuseki-jima volcano is a small stratovolcano in the southern Ryukyu Islands, Japan. It forms the island of the same name, which measures 2.5 x 3.2 km in diameter and is surrounded by steep cliffs with beaches present only on the SW and SE sides.
Although no direct date e... [more info]

Gajajima

(Stratovolcano 452 m / 1483 ft)

[more info]

Io-Torishima

(complex volcano 212 m / 696 ft)

Io-Torishima (also known as Iwo-Torishima or Okinawa-Torishima) volcano forms a small 1x2,7 km island located north of the largest island of the Ryukyus, Okinawa.
Records of historical eruptions dating back to 1664 have consisted of mild-to-moderate explosive activity. Iwo... [more info]

Iriomote-jima

(submarine volcano -200 m / -656 ft)

Iriomote-jima volcano is a shallow submarine volcano 25 km NNE of the island of the same name.
Iriomote-jima island is the southernmost in the chain of the Ryuku Islands which still belong to Japan. It is located almost 1000 km SSW of Japan's main island Honshu and only 200... [more info]

Kikai

(caldera 704 m / 2,310 ft)

Kikai volcano is a 19 km large, mostly submerged caldera at the northern end of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, located 45 km south of Kuyshu. It is one of the country's most active and most explosive volcanoes.
Satsuma-Iojima (or Tokara Iojima), a portion of the mostly subme... [more info]

Kobi-sho

(Stratovolcano 117 m / 384 ft)

[more info]

Kogaja-jima

(stratovolcano 301 m / 988 ft)

Kogaja-jima volcano forms a small island located NW of Nakano-shima, Ryukyu Islands, Japan.
It contains andesitic lava domes and it is not known if the volcano is still to be considered active or not, i.e. if there have been eruptions in the past 10,000 years.
Its na... [more info]

Kuchinoerabu-jima

(stratovolcanoes 657 m / 2,155 ft)

Kuchinoerabu-jima (口永良部島本村西) volcano is one of the active volcanoes of the Ryukyu Island arc, Japan. The 4x12 km wide island is sparsely populated and located 15 km west of Yaku-shima.

All historic activity which consisted in frequent explosions recorded since 1840... [more info]

Kuchinoshima

(stratovolcano 628 m / 2,060 ft)

Kuchino-shima volcano is one of the active volcanic islands in the northern Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan. The small, 3x7 km wide island is located between the volcanic islands of Nakano-shima and Kuchinoerabu-jima and consists of 2 andesitic stratovolcanoes and a NW-SE-trendi... [more info]

Kuroshima

(Stratovolcano 622 m / 2041 ft)

[more info]

Nakano-shima

(stratovolcanoes 979 m / 3,212 ft)

Nakano-shima volcano is a stratovolcano forming the 9 x 5 km island of the same name, which belongs to the Ryukyu Island chain in southern Japan.
The island is surrounded by coral reefs, but unlike older extinct ocean islands that sink and form reefs Nakano-shima's volcano ... [more info]

Suwanose-jima

(stratovolcano 799 m/ 2,621 ft)

Suwanose-jima (諏訪之瀬島) volcano is Japan's and one of the world's most active volcanoes. It has been in a state of near-continuous strombolian-type eruption since 1949.
The volcano forms the 8 km long spindle-shaped island of the same name in northern Ryuku Islands, Japan. T... [more info]

Tokara Hirase

(Unknown 27 m / 89 ft)

[more info]

Yokoate-jima

(stratovolcanoes 495 m / 1,624 ft)

Yokoate-jima volcano forms the small, 3.5-km-long island with the same name and is located NW of Amami Oshima Island at the SW end of the Tokara island chain.
The only known historic eruption was in the first half of the 19th century. [more info]

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Suwanosejima volcano (Japan) - Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for 23 July-29 July 2025 (Continuing Activity)

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported that eruptive activity at Suwanosejima's Ontake Crater continued during 21-28 July. Incandescence was observed nightly in webcam images. An explosion at 0452 on 21 July generated an ash plume that rose 900 m above the crater rim and drifted W. ... Read all

Thu, 24 Jul 2025, 03:30