Undersea volcano delivers new island

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Japan added another small area to its territory on Wednesday (November 20) after an undersea volcano eruption in the southern Ogasawara chain of islands led to the birth of a small new one.

Footage from Japan's coast guard shows the a 200 metre (650 feet) diameter island emerging under a plume of ash, close to another small uninhabited island in the chain.

Smoke from the eruption reached a height of almost 600 metres (1,960 feet) into the air.

Japan's government spokesman on Thursday (November 21) welcomed the new addition to Japan's estimated 6,000 islands, which while over a thousand kilometres to the south would technically be part of Tokyo if it survives its eruptions.

Officials say it is too early to start naming the island as there have been instances where newly formed islands have sunk back into the waves.