Japanese authorities have been left baffled after a mysterious, large metal ball washed up on a local beach, prompting fears that it could have been a spy balloon. The strange object appeared on the coastline of Hamamatsu city and was around five feet wide. Footage showed Japanese bomb experts wearing face masks examining the orb on the beach. The large ball was reported by a member of the public, which led to explosives experts in protective clothing carrying out their assessment while a large surrounding area was closed off.
The ball washed up on Enshu beach, according to local media, 150 miles southwest of the capital of Tokyo.
Thought to be iron, the ball has a rusty appearance and there are two raised handles on the surface, suggesting it is normally hooked to something.
The Japanese armed forces and coastguard officials are examining images of the ball.
Speculation on social media suggested the ball had come from space or asked whether it was another type of surveillance balloon.
One local told Japanese media outlet NHK that the ball had been there for around a month.
He said he came to the beach for a run and was surprised at the attention on the ball following a fellow local’s report.
He said he had “tried to push it” when he first saw the orb but that “it would not budge”.
The sighting follows the spotting of a series of so-called “spy balloons” over the US and Japan employed by China.
While the ball that appeared on the beach in Japan is not a floating balloon, it comes at a time of heightened concern over unidentified objects.
On February 4, the US shot down a suspected spy balloon off the South Carolina Coast.
US defence officials believed the balloon had been launched as part of an operation to spy on sensitive military sites.
China insisted the balloon was for meteorological and other scientific purposes and had been blown off its course by poor weather.
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Since February 4, three further objects have been shot down over North America, though US officials have said these objects appear unrelated to “intelligence collection against the United States”.
Spy balloons have been spotted over Japan intermittently since 2019, and it was reported that Japan raised these concerns to China.
The two nations held security talks on Wednesday for the first time in four years amid growing unease.
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