Featured Image Credit: NHK World News
Topics: News, World News, Weird
Rhiannon Ingle
The mysterious giant sphere that washed ashore a beach in Japan might have finally been identified.
Initial concerns were that the spherical object could pose a threat to the area after it was discovered on the shores of the Enshu beach in Hamamatsu City on Tuesday (21 February).
Japan was left totally baffled when a ginormous yellow iron ball washed up on the shore, leading to many speculations over what this mysterious object was and how it even got there in the first place.
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Many locals were worried that the unusual object could have been dangerous and even explosive.
Police prohibited people from coming near the ball while it was being investigated, putting up a 200 metre perimeter around the ball.
And concerns were so high that Japanese authorities even enlisted disposal squads to the shoreline on Tuesday (21 February), fearing that the ball could have been a sea mine.
One local resident told NHK News that he had no idea why all of a sudden everyone was so interested in the ball.
He revealed to the broadcaster: "It’s been there for a month.
"I tried to push it, but it wouldn’t budge."
And there have been plenty of theories online of what it could be.
Some likened it to a 'dragon ball' while others believed it could have been a UFO that plummeted from the sky. The BBC even dubbed the peculiar discovery a 'Godzilla egg' - but it was not.
Others were worried the discovery was far more threatening, with theories suggesting that it was some kind of surveillance device deployed by China and North Korea.
However, it is now believed that the ball could be nothing more than a common piece of marine equipment.
Local police were able to confirm through the X-rays that the sphere's interior appeared to be hollow.
It also has two raised handles on its surface, which indicates that it was once hooked on to something else.
The ball is also reported to have many similarities to a steel buoy manufactured by the Chinese shipbuilding company, Nantong Yangfan.
While the buoy on the Enshu beach is darker with brown patches of rust and debris - it looks like its original colour was a much brighter yellow.
The buoys are reported to be made in a similar size to the one found on the beach and they are used as a means of guiding mariners or to mark various locations in the ocean.
However, whatever the object might be, NHK News has confirmed that the spherical object is 'not a threat'.