Godzilla egg? Mysterious metal ball found on beach in Japan removed - but it’s still unidentified

An unidentified large metal sphere which appeared on one of Japan‘s beaches has been removed.

Residents of Japan were left confused earlier this week after the sudden appearance of the ball as nobody seemed to know exactly what it was or how it got there.

Even the local police and a bomb squad could not identify the huge ball, according to Japanese media outlet NHK World - and mystery still surrounds what it is. This hasn’t stopped the locals from speculating, however, and many have taken to Twitter to offer their view on what it may be. Some people believe it could be a mooring buoy, but others are convinced it’s a dinosaur egg or a fossil - with one person even referring to it as “Godzilla egg”. Another person questioned if it could be an art installation. 

The ball was found on Enshuhama beach in the coastal Japanese city of Hamamatsu by a walker on Tuesday 21 February, and it’s been a topic of conversation among residents ever since. While the authorities have still not been able to say for certain what the object is, they confirmed through the use of x-ray machines shortly after it was found that it is hollow and is not a threat. It has since been removed from the beach and officials in Hamamatsu have said that it will be stored “for a certain period of time” then “disposed of”, according to BBC News.

A man who was running on the beach told NHK that he was surprised the ball was suddenly causing so much fuss because he had seen it there for a month. He added: “I tried to push it but it wouldn't budge”. Authorities said the object, which measures about 1.5m (4.9ft) wide, will soon be removed from the beach, as reported by the BBC.

The ball was found at a time when there has been unease around the world about unidentified objects. At the beginning of February, President Joe Biden ordered a suspected Chinese spy balloon to be shot down after it spent a week flying over the US and Canada. A number of unidentified objects have also been shot down over North America throughout the month, amid fears they could also have been sent by China for surveillance purposes - although Chinese officials deny this.

Then, this week, Japan defence officials also asked China to prevent flying objects from entering Japanese airspace as they suspect that such objects have been used to spy previously.