A soccer ball that was carried out to sea in the March 2011 Japanese tsunami has washed up in Alaska and will soon be returned to its owner. A radar-station technician in the Gulf of Alaska discovered the ball, which officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration traced to the Osabe School in Iwate Prefecture on Sunday. The ball is the first piece of tsunami debris found to be salvageable and contains identifying information. Earlier this month, the Coast Guard sunk a drifting fishing vessel in the Gulf of Alaska amid concerns that it could become a navigational hazard.
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