Mysterious metal sphere on Japanese beach

The 1.5m diameter hollow sphere is sparking much speculation on social media about the object's origin.

Authorities inspect the sphere on the beach. (Video: Guardian)

Police and residents in a coastal Japanese city have been baffled by the appearance of a large iron sphere that washed up on a beach . Local authorities admit they do not know what the object is or when it will explode. The sphere, which is about 1.5m in diameter, has been lying on Enshu beach in the Pacific coastal city of Hamamatsu for several days, the Guardian reported on February 22.

Many feared it was a mine that had drifted away, but experts dismissed that theory after using X-ray technology to examine the inside of the object and found it to be hollow. They also found no signs that it was linked to spying activities by North Korea or China. Two handles on the surface of the sphere suggested it could be attached to something, leading to speculation that it was a buoy that had drifted away.

Mysterious orange sphere on Enshu beach.

Local police are examining the orange-brown sphere with dark rusty patches after a woman found it lying on the sand just metres from the sea earlier this week. Authorities have cordoned off the area and called in experts in hazmat suits to investigate further. Photos of the object have also been sent to the Ministry of Defence and the Coast Guard for further examination.

"We haven't confirmed what kind of debris it is, but we can be sure it's safe, so we've removed the object as we would with ordinary floating debris ," said Masaki Matsukawa, director of the coastal maintenance department at the Hamamatsu Civil Engineering Agency in Shizuoka Prefecture.