Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2013 March 27 - April 2 [US FORCES]

Tokyoites again sue for noise pollution by US military aircraft

Residents near the U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo again filed a lawsuit on March 26 with the Tokyo District Court Tachikawa Branch, seeking compensation for the noise pollution caused by U.S. military aircraft at the base and an injunction against their late night/early morning flights.

A total of 905 people living in the vicinity of the base brought the case against the state.

The plaintiffs demand a halt to U.S. aircraft operations from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and payment of 792,000 yen to each plaintiff in compensation for damages over the past three years.

In the previous cases involving the Yokota base, the Supreme Court turned down appeals for suspending the flights of American military aircraft, while ruling the noise pollution to be illegal and awarding damages.

At a rally in front of the court branch office, Ono Yoshikazu, a leader of the plaintiffs’ group, said, “I’m determined to carry on with the suit out of respect for our predecessors’ wishes to leave a peaceful and calm living environment for future generations.”

Sekijima Yasuo, the head of the counsel for plaintiffs, criticized the government for failing to introduce any legislation to relieve and compensate victims in disregard of the court rulings. “The administration should be held responsible for forcing those sufferers into a position in which they have to take a legal action to protect their livelihoods,” he said.