A Japanese volcano that appeared in a James Bond film has erupted, shooting smoke and ash thousands of feet into the sky and grounding dozens of flights.

Residents living near Shinmoedake were warned about flying rocks and pyroclastic flows - hot gas and volcanic debris that race down the slopes at high speeds, incinerating or vaporising everything in their path.

Japan's meteorological agency said the volcano, seen in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, violently erupted violently several times, in its biggest explosion since 2011.

Grey smoke can be billowing into the sky and orange lava rising to the mouth of the crater on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu.

At the foot of the volcano, pedestrians in Kirishima city wore surgical masks or covered their noses with hand towels. Others used umbrellas to protect from falling ash, which covered cars and buildings.

About 80 flights in and out of the nearby Kagoshima airport were cancelled.

The 4,660ft volcano started having smaller eruptions last week.

The smoke was visible from a long distance (Kyodo/via Reuters)

The meteorological agency said the volcanic activity was expected to continue.

Japan, which sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", has 110 active volcanoes and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.