Rusty Buoy? Locals Weigh in on Mysterious Metal 'Beach Ball' Found in Japan

Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture residents reported a strange metal ball on the beach late last month. Fearing it could be a naval mine, local authorities restricted access to the beach and called in the Self-Defence Forces. A week later, a similar object was discovered in Kagoshima Prefecture.

On February 28, locals reported the discovery of a huge iron ball on Tokunoshima Island in Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture. The next day, Tokunoshima town officials visited the site to investigate the unidentified round object, measure its size and take photographs of the item.

After descending down a steep cliff and walking along a rocky beach, they saw a cave formed by the erosion of this precipice. A large object resembling a strange iron ball had washed ashore. At first glance it was yellow and seemingly measured approximately 1.5 meters in diameter.

"It's hollow inside. It is so heavy that it does not move even when pushed," Mr Hiroki Masa, Tokunoshima Resident Life Division, said.

Local law enforcement officials examined the object and confirmed that it is hollow and doesn’t pose any danger of exploding. It clearly resembled what washed up on the beach in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, last month.

"Maybe it is a buoy found in Hamamatsu (Shizuoka)? I think they are the same," Kazuo Okumura, Assistant Manager, Tokunoshima Resident Life Division, said.

After reports of the discovery of the first balloon in Shizuoka Prefecture had caused quite a stir, local authorities advised against visiting the beach on Tokunoshima Island because the risk of injury was taken into account, given that the local cliffs are steep enough to easily fall off.