Japan Press Weekly

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2020 December 9 - 15 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Victims of noise pollution living near Yokota AB: Top court's dismissal of residents' appeal is unjust

The Supreme Court on December 9 turned down an appeal filed by residents living near the Yokota Air Base in Tokyo to seek an injunction against late night/early morning flights of U.S. military and Self-Defense Force aircraft.

With this dismissal, the high court ruling, which rejected the residents' demand for a ban on nighttime flights and compensation for future damages while acknowledging noise pollution as illegal and ordering the government to pay a total of 768.75 million yen in compensation for noise damage, has been finalized.

About 1,000 plaintiffs and their legal team on December 11 published a statement claiming that the top court decision is unjust.

The head of the plaintiffs, Nakajima Toshimi, 85, said, "We've been fighting in court for 45 years but the situation hasn't changed much. The government has been leaving the aircraft noise pollution as it is. We won't give up and will continue to fight for quiet nights."

The head of the plaintiffs’ counsel, Sekijima Yasuo criticized the top court for taking side with the U.S. forces.

Past related article:
> Number of takeoffs and landings of US military aircraft at Yokota AB hits record high [November 7,2020]