A viral video created with artificial intelligence (AI) shows the catastrophic impact that a volcanic eruption at Mount Fuji could have on Tokyo, Japan, and its 37 million inhabitants. Fortunately, the informational video is not timed to any increased risk of an eruption — it's merely a public service announcement tied to Japan’s Volcanic Disaster Preparedness Day 2025.
The AI-generated video, released Aug. 22 by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, warns of the speed with which volcanic ash could travel from the volcano to Japan's capital city before raining down on its roads, buildings, railways and other infrastructure. Clouds of debris from Mount Fuji could reach Tokyo in just one to two hours, subtitles beneath the video read, paralyzing the city's transport networks, cutting power supplies and affecting the respiratory health of millions of people.
"The moment may arrive without any warning," the subtitles, translating the video's narration from Japanese to English, say. "If Mt. Fuji erupted, volcanic ash may fall on Tokyo and impact us in a wide variety of ways."
In the video, a woman receives an alert on her phone warning of an eruption at Mount Fuji, which is located 60 miles (100 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo's city center. The clip then takes the viewer on an AI-generated tour of the potential impacts of volcanic ash on Tokyo's transport links, power lines, water supplies, residential buildings and inhabitants.
"It only takes a minimal accumulation of ash on runways and rails to render planes and trains unusable," the subtitles in the section of the video about transport infrastructure say. "A small amount of ash on roads may impact the operation of 2WD [two-wheel drive] vehicles, as the ash fall limits visibility and increases the risk of slippage, creating hazardous driving conditions."
Large amounts of ash may block Tokyo's sewers, contaminate freshwater supplies, crush power lines and collapse wooden roofs, according to the video. The city could also be plunged into darkness as ash particles block the sun, and access to food and other essentials may be temporarily suspended. Additionally, people might suffer adverse health effects from inhaling the particles, with pre-exiting respiratory conditions worsening with exposure.
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Mount Fuji is Japan's highest peak, measuring 12,389 feet (3,776 meters) tall. The last time the volcano erupted was in 1707, and the subsequent ashfall lasted for two weeks, according to the video. While Mount Fuji used to erupt about every 30 years, it has now been dormant for 318 years, but some experts think that it could blow at any moment.
However, the timing of the video is unrelated to any signs of an eruption, and there is no suggestion that Mount Fuji is close to exploding, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said in a statement seen by CNN. "The simulation is designed to equip residents with accurate knowledge and preparedness measures they can take in case of an emergency," government officials wrote in the statement.
Preparedness measures include stocking up on food and first aid supplies. In the video, parents show their child a pantry filled with canned food, water and medicines ready in case of an emergency.
The video was released for Volcanic Disaster Preparedness Day 2025, but this isn't the first time Tokyo's government has warned of the risk from Mount Fuji, according to CNN. In March, officials published guidelines recommending that people stock two weeks' worth of essential supplies in their homes at all times.
The Japanese government has been modeling earthquake and volcanic eruption scenarios for years, yet these investigations don’t coincide with specific risks from Mount Fuji or other geological features, Naoya Sekiya, a professor and risk communication expert at the University of Tokyo, told NBC News.
"There's no particular significance to the timing," Sekiya confirmed.
Japan is home to 111 active volcanoes — about one-tenth of the world's total — due to its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped belt of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean. The country is located on the border between four tectonic plates that grind against each other and often collide, triggering swarms of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Perhaps the best known natural disaster to strike Japan was the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The magnitude 9 earthquake was the strongest in Japan's recorded history, with warnings going out to Tokyo residents just one minute before the shaking began.
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