Japan court orders damages for US base noise

TOKYO (Reuters) – A Tokyo court on Thursday ordered the
Japanese government to pay record damages for aircraft noise
pollution to residents around a joint U.S.-Japanese military
base southwest of the capital.

The Tokyo High Court ordered the government to pay more
than 4 billion yen ($34.70 million) to plaintiffs living around
Atsugi base, rejecting an appeal against a lower court’s
verdict and raising the amount of damages to cover the period
of the court battle, Kyodo news agency said.

Noise, pollution and crime associated with U.S. bases make
them unpopular with local communities in Japan, which plays
host to 50,000 U.S. military personnel.

The total damages awarded represent a record high for
aircraft noise suits involving either military airfields or
civilian airports, Kyodo said.

U.S. military planes regularly practice night landing at
Atsugi and the Japanese marine forces station P-3C
antisubmarine patrol planes there, Kyodo said.