Government must accept residents' protest against noise pollution -- Akahata editorial, October 17

In a lawsuit over noise pollution caused by U.S. military aircraft at U.S. Atsugi Naval Air Station in Kanagawa Prefecture, the Yokohama District Court ordered the government to pay compensation to residents in areas adjacent to the U.S. base for their damage.

The plaintiffs did not call for a halt to U.S. military flights and the compensation the court ordered the government to pay is limited to damages in the past.

But the court ruling shows that U.S. military aircraft noise is unbearable to residents and that justice has had to admit that it is illegal.

Illegal training must be ended

Carrier-borne aircraft such as F/A-18 fighters come to the U.S. Atsugi base and carry out circular flights in residential areas every couple of minutes causing deafening roars peculiar to military aircraft.

Night landing practices (NLP) and low-flight training take place day and night. Residents in areas close to the base are calling for a halt to the reckless flight training, claiming, "Our babies have fits," and "My blood pressure suddenly went high so that I had to call an ambulance."

NLPs are also carried out at the U.S. Yokota Air Base, U.S. Misawa Air Base, and U.S. Marine Iwakuni Air Station. Low-flight training is conducted throughout Japan. Residents are angrily questioning, "Why do U.S. military aircraft have the right to use Japanese air space without restrictions?"

Is there any other country in the world that allows foreign troops to be so lawless? Are Japanese people denied a right to live peacefully?

The Japanese government is the problem in that it has never requested the U.S. forces to stop NLPs and low-flight training exercises. On the contrary, it has always condoned them.

When residents near the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo filed a lawsuit demanding a ban on night and early morning flights by U.S. military aircraft, the Tokyo High Court proposed an out-of-court settlement that prohibits early morning flights before 7:00 a.m.

The settlement proposal said that the present condition was illegal and that the government should have responsibility and take steps to reduce damages to the residents and end the illegal flights. However, at a Japan-U.S. Joint Committee meeting, Japan agreed that the U.S. military aircraft can start flying at 6:00 a.m.

The Supreme Court in April rejected a lawsuit filed by residents living in the vicinity of the U.S. Yokota Air Base, calling for a flight suspension early in the morning and at night. On the grounds that there is no arrangement between the Japanese and U.S. governments, the court ruled that cases involving U.S. bases are beyond the control of the Japanese civil courts.

To assist residents suffering from the noise, the Japanese government should demand that the U.S. government cancel all low-altitude flight exercises including touch-and-go flight training at night.

From the very first, the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty doesn't give the U.S. forces any right to conduct low-altitude flight exercises over residential areas. Under this security treaty, the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement also states that the U.S. forces are obligated to respect Japanese laws.

The reason why the U.S. forces violate this and repeat illegal acts is that the Japanese government neglects people's suffering and puts more importance on the U.S. forces than the Constitution.

It is a minimum obligation for the Japanese government to guarantee what Article 25 of the Constitution says, "All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living" (Article 25).

Removing U.S. military bases is urgent task

It is completely abnormal to see that foreign troops still occupy a vast part of densely-populated areas around Tokyo, ignoring local residents' agony, and flying aircraft day and night.

After WWII, the U.S. occupied Japan and forced the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty upon Japan. More than half a century has passed since U.S. troops were first deployed in Japan.

The Koizumi Cabinet says it has no intention to ask the U.S. forces to leave. We wonder how long the government will allow such an abnormal situation.

It is increasingly necessary that the Japanese Communist Party make further progress in order for the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty to be abandoned and the U.S. bases to be withdrawn. (end)