New Delhi: A mysterious giant metal sphere that washed up on a beach in Japan has been removed, according to local media reports. The authorities said that the object will be stored “for a certain period of time” before it is “disposed of”.


The iron ball was discovered on Enshu Beach in coastal city Hamamatsu on Tuesday and triggered a probe. As per BBC, a local had found the object on the shore and alerted the police.


Japanese broadcaster NHK released footage of two officials on Enshuhama Beach looking at the rusty metal sphere that is estimated to be about 1.5m (4.9ft) wide.


The area was cordoned off and authorities conducted X-ray exams which did not reveal much, although it confirmed that the object was safe. It has now been removed.


"I think everyone in Hamamatsu City was worried and curious about what it was about, but I'm relieved that the work is over," a local official told Japanese media, as per BBC.


According to a BBC report, many people question as to why the Japanese officials have not clearly said what the object really is.


Fascinated locals have come up with various suspicions that the find could be a "Godzilla egg", "mooring buoy" or "from outer space". Other suggestions included a resemblance to something from the popular manga series Dragon Ball, while others said they believed it was a UFO that had fallen from the sky.


While debate over what the sphere continues on social media, some experts said it was immediately obvious.


"OMG! It's a steel mooring buoy people. I'm embarrassed to be Japanese," read a tweet.


Oceanographer Professor Mark Inall, who works at the Scottish Association for Marine Science said he knew what it was "instantly".
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"It's very recognisable," he told the BBC. "We use (them) to keep instruments floating in the ocean. They often wash up on the coast of Scotland,” he added.


A Hamamatsu civil engineer also said that it "considers it to be a foreign-made buoy".


Professor Inall said he was surprised that the object wasn't identified more quickly though he acknowledged that the general public wouldn’t know what it was. He said that objects can float around in the water for decades during which they can lose their markings and get rusty before making it to the shore.


Generally, such things would not raise suspicion, however, there has been general nervousness about unidentified objects since the US spotted and shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon earlier this month.


"Given the recent events ... I could understand there's an interest in an unidentified floating object," Professor Inall said.


Notably, Japan separately expressed concern to China on Wednesday that it spotted suspected surveillance balloons over its skies at least three times since 2019 - an allegation it first made last week. Beijing denied the claims of espionage.