NAHA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Residents near the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Prefecture were awarded about 30.2 billion yen ($267 million) in a court ruling Thursday, marking the largest damages payment levied against the Japanese government in a suit over noise from a military installation.
But the Okinawa branch of the Naha District Court turned down a request by nearby 22,000 residents to ban nighttime and early morning flights at the biggest U.S. air base in East Asia. The number of plaintiffs was the largest-ever for such a lawsuit, their lawyers said.
The 30.2 billion yen in compensation far exceeded the previous record of 8.2 billion yen in damages for noise suffered by people living near the U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo.
"The U.S. and Japanese governments have not taken fundamental prevention measures and illegal damage has been aimlessly left unresolved," the branch said in the ruling.
The plaintiffs in the Kadena lawsuit, who have complained of sleep disruptions and hearing disorders, sought a monthly 57,500 yen payment each for future damages, asking for a flight ban between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. at the base.
The state has argued that Japan "cannot restrict" flights of aircraft at the Kadena base because the authority belongs to the U.S. military.
Read the full story at The Mainichi