Residents of a coastal town in Japan were left speechless after seeing a large iron ball wash ashore. The Japanese authorities have no idea about its origin, but the only thing they know – perhaps the most important – is that it is not going to explode.
It is a sphere, with a diameter of 1.5 meters, the detection of which has given rise to conspiracy theories: is it… a spy balloon, a UFO or perhaps a ball from the popular manga series “Dragon Ball”?
【動画】海岸に謎の鉄球？
静岡県浜松市の遠州浜海岸に
直径１点５メートルほどの
金属製の球体が
打ち上げられているのが
見つかりました警察が調べたところ
爆発の危険性はありませんが
どのような物かは詳しく
わかっていないということです pic.twitter.com/M8qpnfdWWy— NHK静岡放送局 (@nhk_shizuoka_) February 21, 2023
As the Guardian reports, experts used X-ray technology to examine the interior of the object and found that it was hollow.
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The object washed up on Enshu Beach in the city of Hamamatsu on the country’s Pacific coast, according to local media. What we know so far is that it is not a “stray sea mine” and according to the British newspaper, there is no indication that the sphere is a spy tool from North Korea or China.
Officers sealed off the area and called in bomb experts to investigate further, but authorities say they still don’t know what the sphere is or where it came from. Images from the scene have been sent to the Japanese Defense Forces and Coast Guard for further examination.
However, a local who regularly jogs on the beach said he did not understand why the ball was suddenly in the center of attention. “It has been there for a month,” he told public broadcaster NHK. “I tried to push it, but it wouldn’t move,” he added.
Additionally, the presence of two raised handles on the sphere’s surface—suggesting that it might be hooked to something else—led to the possible explanation that it may be a mooring buoy that had simply come loose.
