An incredibly odd occurrence off the coast of Japan has people wondering if a giant lizard might be to blame. A small uninhabited land mass 500 meters off the coast of a small fishing village named Sarufutsu has seemingly completely vanished from the ocean. The complete destruction of a Japanese landmass? There's really only one reason something like that could happen. Godzilla.
It seems that recently, a small island that used to be visible off Japan no longer is. This is causing some to go "search" for the island in order to see what happened. Apparently, a Japanese author who once produced a book about Japanese islands noticed that the spot, called Esanbehanakitakojima, didn't seem to be there anymore. Residents of the fishing village seemed to confirm that while they could previously see it from the shore, they no longer could.
While some seem to be blaming constant erosion from wind, or rising sea levels caused by climate change, others have a more insidious theory. Japan's largest contribution to pop culture, Godzilla.
From a geographic perspective, the island is actually important as CNN reports it used to mark the northern border of Japan. With it no longer really there, there could be disputes about where Japan's sovereign territory ends and Russia's starts.
The Godzilla theory is an especially fun one as November 3 marked the anniversary of the wide release of the original Godzilla movie in Japan, and is recognized in the island nation as the character's birthday. Perhaps he took the opportunity of the anniversary to reward himself with a little snack.
Of course, there are other theories about what may have happened to the island. If it wasn't Godzilla, then clearly it was a James Bond villain or some other nefarious evil mastermind showing off the awesome power of his super island destroying death ray.
As officials begin their search for the missing island, I certainly hope they find it. It should be right where they left it, just under the surface of the water. The last time the island was surveyed, several decades ago, it was apparently only a few feet above sea level, so the fact that it's gone from view shouldn't honestly be all that shocking.
Of course, if they can't find it where it should be, we'll have to start wondering just what Godzilla has been up to. If they can't locate the giant lizard, they should be able to catch him during the upcoming press tour of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the new film starring the kaiju beast that will hit theaters in May.
