A hollow metal sphere with a diameter of 1.5 meters is sparking numerous speculations on social media regarding the origin of the object.
Authorities inspect the sphere on the beach. (Video: Guardian)
Police and residents in a coastal city in Japan are puzzled by the appearance of a large iron sphere that washed up on the beach. Local authorities admitted they do not know what the object is or when it might explode. The sphere, measuring approximately 1.5 meters in diameter, has been sitting on Enshu Beach in Hamamatsu City along the Pacific coast for several days, as reported by the Guardian on February 22.
Many residents feared it was a drifting mine, but experts dismissed this theory after using X-ray technology to inspect the inside of the object and discovering it was hollow. They also found no signs linking it to espionage activities from North Korea or China. Two handles on the surface of the sphere suggest it could be attached to something, leading to speculation that it might be a drifting buoy.
The mysterious orange sphere on Enshu Beach.
Local police are examining the orange-brown sphere, which has dark rust patches, after a woman discovered it on the sand just a few meters from the ocean earlier this week. Authorities cordoned off the area and called in experts in protective gear for further investigation. Photos of the object have also been sent to the Ministry of Defense and the Coast Guard for more thorough examination.
“We have not confirmed what type of debris it is, but we can be sure it is safe, so we have treated the object like ordinary floating debris,” said Masaki Matsukawa, director of the coastal maintenance department at the Civil Engineering Agency in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture.
