'James Bond' volcano erupts in Japan

007 confronts SPECTRE inside Mount Shinmoe volcano

SPECTRE’s volcano has erupted in Japan, but James Bond and girlfriend Kissy Suzuki are nowhere to be found.

Japan, the home to many volcanoes, has had many memorialized in film, especially the nation’s national symbol, the towering Mount Fuji.

Blofeld’s spaceport lay under this fake lake

Yet it’s the Mount Shinmoe volcano in the Kirishima mountain range between the Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures that has a special place in the hearts of James Bond aficionados, for it is the place that 007 finally met his nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld–mastermind of the evil criminal organization SPECTRE.

Bond adversary Dr. No died in nuclear reactor

Ian Fleming’s SPECTRE is an acronym for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, as Bond’s late adversary Dr. No once summed it up.

Inside Mount Shinmoe’s secret spaceport

Although Blofeld’s hidden space complex lay in the bowels of the extinct volcano in the 1967 movie, “You Only Live Twice,” Mount Shinmoe is not extinct. The former star of the James Bond film erupted with spectacular fury on January 27, 2011.

Mount Shinmoe’s spectacular night eruption

A terse statement from the Fukuoka District Meteorological Observatory and Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory confirmed that the volcano erupted with little warning. According to officials only slight activity was observed on the 26th. No alarm was raised because the volcano has been quiet for 52 years.

But after the 52 year lull, all hell broke loose. Spewing burning ash and superheated rocks into the blackness of the night as high as 6,500 feet, nine families close to the awakening monster fled for their lives.

People four miles from the volcano were jolted awake by rumbling explosions and shaking walls and windows.

The UK Daily Telegraph reported that one resident said, “It came like a sudden downpour of rain [and] collapsed the window of my car just as I opened the door to take refuge.”

Air traffic has been disrupted and some rail lines closed. Nearby roads have been cordoned off and traffic is being diverted. Since the activity began on January 26th the alert level in the region has been raised to a level three out of five levels of severity.

At this time no government enforced evacuation orders have been issued, but many living near the volcano have left of their own accord.

Blofeld of SPECTRE–Bond’s greatest arch-villian

Bond’s friend, Tiger Tanaka–head of the Japanese Secret Service has not issued a statement. Nor have the media picked up any reports on the whereabouts of Herr Blofeld.

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© Copyright AYM Communications, 2011.