With a diameter of 1.5 metres...a mysterious iron ball was found washed away by the waves, and the surprise that put scientists in confusion was what was found inside it.
A large iron ball that washed up on a local beach has left police and residents of a Japanese coastal town baffled, after authorities admitted that the identity of the ball is still unknown.
The British newspaper “The Guardian” reported that the only thing certain for the authorities is that the ball is not about to explode.
Local reports reported that the ball, with a diameter of about 1.5 meters, had caused speculation about its nature since it washed up on Enshu Beach in the city of Hamamatsu on the country's Pacific coast.
Experts used X-ray technology to examine the inside of the ball and found that it was hollow, ruling out concerns about the possibility of it being a mine.
The newspaper reported that there are no indications that the mysterious object is intended for espionage by North Korea or neighboring China, while the presence of two handles on it suggests that it is a mooring ball that floated on the water.
Police began examining the ball, which is orange-brown with what appear to be dark spots of rust, after it was spotted by a local woman who was resting on the sand a few meters from the beach on a picnic earlier this week, TV Asahi reported.
The photos were sent to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and Coast Guard for further examination.
A local man who regularly runs on the beach told public broadcaster NHK that he did not understand why the ball had suddenly become the center of attention. “She was there for a month.”
“I tried to push her, but she wouldn’t budge,” the man added.
The police closed a 200-meter radius around the ball while experts tried to solve the puzzle to no avail.
The ball sparked speculation on social media about its nature, between those who say it is a mysterious object that fell from the sky, and those who believe that it resembles the “Dragon Ball” as in the famous Japanese manga series.
The ball came shortly after Japan announced that it “strongly suspects” that several Chinese spy balloons have been spotted over its territory in recent years.
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