JAPAN GOVERNMENT ORDERED TO PAY DAMAGES OVER NOISE AT ATSUGI AIR BASE - YOKOHAMA JAPAN

JAPAN GOVERNMENT ORDERED TO PAY DAMAGES OVER NOISE AT ATSUGI AIR BASE - YOKOHAMA JAPAN 

@Jr_Paku Midin Channel

 

YOKOHAMAA Japanese court on Wednesday ordered the government to pay damages to residents around Atsugi air base near Tokyo over excessive noise but rejected their call for suspending Self-Defense Forces and U.S. military flights.

The Yokohama District Court ordered the state to pay approximately 5.9 billion yen for past disturbances but rejected the plaintiffs' demand for compensation for future noise pollution.

In the lawsuit filed in 2017, the group of some 8,700 plaintiffs demanded that the state halt nighttime and early morning flights at the base and pay a total of 13.1 billion yen in compensation for past and future noise-related health damage.

The air base straddling the densely populated cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture is shared by the SDF and the U.S. military.

Presiding Judge Nobuhiro Okada, however, acknowledged the "highly public" nature of SDF flights in handing down the ruling dismissing their suspension.

It was the first ruling since the March 2018 completion of the transfer of U.S. carrier planes, known for generating loud noise, from Atsugi to another U.S. military base in Iwakuni, western Japan, as part of a U.S. forces realignment.

In the trial, the fifth in a series over noise pollution at the base since the 1970s, the government argued that noise levels had significantly decreased following the transfer.

Taking into consideration the eased noise pollution and other factors, the judge also said it cannot be said that SDF flights "significantly lack validity in light of social norms."

On U.S. military aircraft, the court said the Japanese government has no authority to restrict their operations.

In the trial, the plaintiffs living in eight neighboring cities, including Yamato and Ayase, had argued that noise pollution has persisted as U.S. fighter jets and Osprey transport aircraft still arrive at the base.

In the fourth suit, the district and high courts ordered the suspension of SDF flights. However, the top court overturned the decision, ordering the state to pay compensation for past disturbances.

Some previous rulings ordering the state to pay compensation have been finalized, with the Japanese government requesting that the United States share the burden based on the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement.

But the U.S. government had not made any payments as of February, according to the Japanese government.

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@Jr_Paku Midin Channel