News Mysterious ball washed up on beach baffles Japan

[thomas]

Police and residents in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, were left baffled by a large iron ball that has washed up on a local beach, with authorities admitting they have no idea what it is – only that it isn't about to explode. The sphere, measuring about 1.5 metres in diameter, has been at the centre of fevered speculation since it washed up on Enshu beach in the city of Hamamatsu on the country's Pacific coast.

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A local resident contacted police at around 8:45 a.m. on Feb. 21 to report that she had found "a large, round object" on Enshuhama beach in Hamamatsu's Nishi Ward. Shizuoka Prefectural Police officers confirmed an iron ball-like object was on the beach. The force's bomb disposal unit X-rayed the ball, and found that it was hollow and not in danger of exploding. According to Hamamatsu Nishi Police Station, the apparently metal object's surface is brown with rust, and it has two protrusions that look like eyes for hooks, but little more about its nature is known. Part of its bulk is buried beneath the sand.

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Mysterious 1.5-meter metal ball found washed up on Japan beach - The Mainichi

HAMAMATSU, Shizuoka -- A metal ball about 1.5 meters in diameter has been found on a Pacific coast beach here, and as yet no one knows exactly what it

mainichi.jp

'Mysterious ball' washes up on beach sparking investigation by baffled officials

A bizarre ball that appears to be made of metal forced the closing off of a beach in Japan as explosive experts reportedly examined it and still the authorities have no idea what it can be

www.mirror.co.uk

Spy balloon, UFO or Dragon Ball? Japan baffled by iron ball washed up on beach

About 1.5 metres in diameter, the mysterious metal sphere has been the source of intense speculation online

www.theguardian.com

 

[johnnyG]

Finders keepers?

 

[Petaris]

If it washed up then I would think it must be somewhat boyant. I wonder if it was some sort of float for something.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

A gift from Godzilla , his left testicle ? Latest speculation is it's a marine float made in China and pictures of new ones there look like this one in Japan. Smaller ones are used everywhere here in Maine to tie boats up to in the harbors.

 

[thomas]

Meanwhile, Hamamatsu City has removed the ball. In case, someone lost it, they can claim it.

Local officials in Hamamatsu said it would be stored "for a certain period" and then "disposed of". [...] Interest in the object - dubbed "Godzilla egg", "mooring buoy", and "from outer space" - started earlier this week after a local alerted police upon noticing the unusual object on the shore.

Some reactions by the public were more level-headed:

"I can't believe officials from a country surrounded by ocean don't recognise a ball buoy," read one tweet. "OMG! It's a steel mooring buoy, people. I'm embarrassed to be Japanese," said another. Hamamatsu's local civil engineering office said it "considers it a foreign-made buoy".

Prof Mark Inall, an oceanographer at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, said he knew what it was "instantly". "It's very recognisable," he told the BBC. "We use (them) to keep instruments floating in the ocean." They often wash up on the coast of Scotland, he added. While Professor Inall said he was surprised that the metal sphere was not identified more quickly, he acknowledged that the general public wouldn't necessarily have known what it was.

How boring.

Japan’s mystery ball removed from the beach

The ball, dubbed "Godzilla egg", has perplexed locals and set off widespread speculation.

www.bbc.com

 

[musicisgood]

It probably is a sonar to pick up US submarine locations by the Chinese. More then likely came over Alaska and broke loose.