Unidentified object on Japan's beach which triggered panic was just a...
2 min read . Updated: 25 Feb 2023, 07:00 PM IST
Premium- The discovery of the unidentified spherical object prompted a quick reaction from the security authorities with officials in helmets and hazmat suits cordoned off the area
Amid the paranoia of spy balloons all around, the Japanese authorities have clarified that the unidentified spherical object which drifted ashore in Hamamatsu was not explosive or any kind of spying device, but simply a piece of scrap metal.
“The ball is going to be scrapped eventually," Hiroyuki Yagi, an official at Shizuoka Prefecture’s River and Coastal Management Bureau, said according to New York Times. The official also informed that the authorities had assigned the metal scrap to a local company.
The discovery of the unidentified spherical object prompted a quick reaction from the security authorities with officials in helmets and hazmat suits cordoned off the area. The authorities even planted a traffic cone on the sand to ward off people from the area.
The social media was full of rumors with some calling it a weapon of espionage, while some claimed it to be an egg produced by something large.
The panic around the discovery was real as it's usual for North Korea to launch missiles in the region. The geopolitical tensions around the US shooting down Chinese ‘spy balloons’ also added to the tensions around the incident.
According to oceanographers, the object was a buoy, which is typically used for research. Buoys are used for a variety of purposes, including marking shipping channels, warning of hazardous areas or obstacles, providing navigational aids to mariners, measuring and monitoring weather and water conditions, and supporting scientific research.
Buoys can take on many different shapes and sizes, depending on their intended use. They can be anchored in place with weights, chains, or cables, or they can be equipped with thrusters to allow them to move around and change position. Some buoys are equipped with sensors and instruments to measure things like wave height, water temperature, and water quality, and to transmit this information back to researchers or other interested parties.