Government to pay millions in damages to residents over 'unacceptable' Okinawa base noise

A Japanese court has ordered the government to pay some 754 million yen in damages to residents around a US air base in Okinawa Prefecture over aircraft noises.

Some 2,200 plaintiffs who live around the Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan complained of mental distress to the Naha District Court, saying aircraft noise from the base had disrupted their sleep and daily lives.

In seeking about 1 billion yen in damages from the state, they also said they feared aircraft crashes, according to lawyers representing the plaintiffs and their lawsuit.

“The noise damage suffered by the plaintiffs is serious and widespread,” Presiding Judge Satoshi Hikage said in the ruling, adding that the court had found the damage reached an unacceptable level.

The ruling comes as Japan and the United States are seeking to move the Futenma base to a less densely populated area on the same Okinawa island and return the land used for the base to Japanese control. The Okinawa governor opposes relocating the base within the island prefecture.