A huge metal sphere has been found on a beach in Japan – confounding locals and inspiring online conspiracists.
The ball, measuring about 1.5 metres in diameter, washed up on Enshu beach in the city of Hamamatsu on the country’s Pacific coast, according to reports.
The BBC reports that locals have even dubbed it “Godzilla egg”.
Its appearance may have passed without much notice were it not for the recent feverish speculation over unidentified objects after the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon.
A more prosaic explanation is likely. Asahi News noted that the object has a form of a handle, which would allow it to be hooked to something else, meaning it could well be a mooring buoy – a floating alternative to an anchor.
The police, who can’t say what it is yet, have restricted access to a radius of 200 metres. Local media reported that the object was not deemed to be a threat.