A mysterious iron ball, measuring one and a half meters in diameter, has appeared on Enshu beach in the city of Hamamatsu on Japan's Pacific coast: authorities have admitted they have no idea what it is, only have clarified
that it's not going to explode.
Fears that it could be a mine were dismissed by experts, who used X-ray technology to examine the inside of the sphere and found it to be hollow.
Police began inspecting the ball, which is orange-brown with what appear to be darker patches of rust, after a local woman saw it in the sand a few feet from shore.
The area was cordoned off, the photographs sent to the Japan Self-Defense Forces and Coast Guard for further examination.
A local man who usually jogs on the beach said he doesn't understand why the ball has suddenly become the center of attention: "It's been there for a month," he said, "I tried to push it, but it doesn't move." .
According to some, it looks like something from the popular Dragon Ball manga series, while others say it's a UFO.
The presence of two raised handles on the surface of the sphere - indicating that it may be hooked to something else - has suggested a more prosaic explanation: that it is a mooring buoy that has simply come loose and fallen over.
