US federal scientists said that a volleyball and football that washed ashore on an island may be the first pieces of debris to arrive in Alaska from last year’s tsunami in Japan.
The Anchorage Daily News reports that the balls were spotted by David Baxter, a radar technician on Middleton Island.
His wife Yumi traced the writing on the balls to a Japanese school in an area hit by the tsunami.
Doug Helton, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the balls are one of the first pieces of debris that can be traced back to Japan - and make it possible to return it to the owner.
Mr Baxter traced the soccer ball to Misaki Murakami (16), who lost all his possession when his home in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture was washed away.
Shiori Sato, 19-year-old student, has come forward saying she is the owner of the volleyball. Ms Sato, also from Iwate prefecture, lost her house in last year's tsunami.