Japanese Court Rejects Injunction against Flights at Atsugi Air Base

   Yokohama, Nov. 20 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese district court on Wednesday rejected a request for an injunction against nighttime and early morning flights at Atsugi Air Base, which is used jointly by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military.
   Presiding Judge Nobuhiro Okada at Yokohama District Court rejected the request filed by some 8,700 residents in eight cities around the base, which straddles the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.
   But the judge ordered the state to pay a total of roughly 5.9 billion yen in damages to the plaintiffs over past noise pollution linked to the base. He denied a damages claim for future noise pollution.
   The lawsuit, the fifth of its kind, focused on changes in levels of base-related noise since U.S. carrier-based aircraft were relocated to the Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan.

(2024/11/20-15:37)