Japanese officials sealed off a beach to investigate a large, mysterious metal sphere of unknown origin.
The “suspicious” ball was reported by a local resident in Hamamatsu, a southern coastal city about 250km from Tokyo, who called police just before 9am saying “a large round object was washed up on the beach”, Asahi News reported.
The woman said her husband first noticed the object while taking a walk on the weekend.
According to police, the object is a sphere with a diameter of around 1.5 metres and is believed to be made of iron as it has a coating of rust.
Officials restricted access within a 200-metre radius around the object for most of the day, with bomb disposal crews seen inspecting the ball.
