Japanese officials investigate mysterious ball washed up on beach

There is a big mysterious metal ball on a beach in Japan and officials are investigating it in the hopes of figuring out where this thing came from and what it is.

Alright, so we do pretty much know what it is, it's a rusty metal ball about 1.5 metres in diameter which appears to have washed up on the beach.

What people are still trying to figure out is what this strange ball is meant to be for, it's got handle-like additions so it looks like it could be attached to something and the big question is what that something might have been.

The ball was found on Enshu Beach in Tsuboi-cho, Nishi-ku, Hamamatsu City at around 9am local time on 21 February.

It was reported to the authorities by a woman who was walking with her husband on the beach after the spotted the large metal ball sitting in the sand and thought it was suspicious.

Early concerns that it might have been a sea mine which could blow up and do some serious damage to inquisitive souls were allayed after X-ray scans of the ball found that it was hollow.

Those reckoning that it's some sort of device sent out by China or North Korea can also stop worrying as according to local media it's not likely to be something trying to spy on people.

Officials are still trying to work out what this ball is and have erected a 200 metre perimeter around the ball to prevent anyone from getting too close.

Explosive experts in protective clothing have been able to examine the ball and luckily it doesn't seem to be at risk of blowing up.

Right now it might just be a big metal ball that was attached to something in the sea but somehow broke free and eventually washed up onto a beach, but people are having fun speculating as to what it might really be.

Some people wondered whether it was a UFO, while others joked that because of the rusted metal ball's orange colour it was actually one of the legendary artefacts from manga series Dragon Ball.

A local man and Enshu Beach regular told public broadcaster NHK he didn't understand what all the fuss was about as 'it's been there for a month'.

He also said he tried to move the ball himself by giving it a push but 'it wouldn't budge'.

It makes sense, as even a hollow metal ball would be a tough ask to get moving when it's wedged in sand, but it does still beg the question as to how it ended up on the beach and where it came from originally.