Pumice stones have been found washed ashore for about 500 meters on the coast of Choshi City, Chiba Prefecture, and the Japan Coast Guard is calling attention to vessels navigating nearby.
The eruption that occurred at the submarine volcano of the Ogasawara Islands in August last year caused a large amount of pumice to be washed ashore in various places, affecting the fishing industry.
In Choshi City, on the 3rd of this month, pumice stones with a diameter of about 1 mm to 5 mm were found to be washed ashore for about 500 meters on the Nagasaki coast near Inubosaki.
According to the Choshi Coast Guard Department, this is the first time that a large amount of pumice stones have been washed ashore on the coast of Choshi City.
According to the local fishermen's cooperatives, there is no impact on the fishing industry so far, but the Japan Coast Guard is calling attention to vessels navigating nearby.
Katsuhiko Yamada, who lives in the local area where he found the pumice stone, said, "The pumice stone is smaller and has a rough texture than rice grains. I have never had such a pumice stone washed ashore on the coast of Choshi."