A Strange Metal Sphere Just Emerged From The Ocean

A sphere-shaped unidentified object washed up on the shore of Japan, and local authorities still haven't figured out what it is or where it came from.

By Jessica Scott | Updated

An unidentified object has washed up on a beach in Hamamatsu City, Japan, and locals have no clue what it is. According to a post on Twitter by NHK WORLD News, the police quickly rushed to the scene to check out a large metal sphere and wound up calling the bomb squad once they arrived. Luckily, the mysterious item did not turn out to be a bomb … but then what is it?

According to BBC News, they can’t yet say what the unidentified object really is, only that it is hollow inside and completely innocuous. Locals have been calling it everything from a “Godzilla egg” to something “from outer space,” and have been showing up in droves to get a peek at it.

The unidentified object was discovered by an unnamed local who came across the ball while walking along the shoreline. The local then called the police, who blocked off the area to keep lookie-loos at bay long enough for them to investigate. A series of x-rays revealed that there was nothing dangerous about the sphere, but they did not reveal what it actually was. 

Not everyone, though, was impressed. A runner who often passes by the area where the unidentified object was found said that he doesn’t really see what all the fuss is about. The object, he said, has been on the beach for quite a while.

He even did his own investigation on it during that time: “I tried to push it,” begins his quote shared in the Twitter video “but it wouldn’t budge.”

The unidentified object is around 1.5 meters or 4.9 feet wide, and mostly just looks like a big, rusty metal ball. Many people are convinced that there is nothing so special about this item: it is clearly some sort of buoy that broke loose from its chain and washed ashore. So what’s all the hubbub about? 

With all the recent tension in the air about Chinese spy balloons, panic is quick to overwhelm even the calmest, most rational of minds. After the U.S. shot down an alleged spy balloon from China earlier this month, Japan expressed concern that it, too, has been being surveilled by China. It claims that there have been at least three sightings of a similar type of surveillance balloon in its skies over the last four years, which suggests that China is doing some sort of spying on their country, too. 

unidentified object

China, of course, denies this claim. The defense ministers of both Japan and China came together for a meeting yesterday to try to put in place a better communication system between them, going so far as to agree to launch a communications hotline in spring 2023. 

But where does that leave the unidentified object on the Hamamatsu City beach? Well, for the moment, it is still officially unidentified. We’re almost certain, however, that it is not some sort of spy device left there by China or by extraterrestrials to record the secrets of beachcombers. And if it is, it is doing a very good job of disguising itself. 

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