Japan Ordered to Pay Bigger 369 M. Yen in Damages for Futenma Noise

July 29, 2010

Naha, Okinawa Pref., July 29 (Jiji Press) -- The Naha branch of Fukuoka High Court ruled Thursday that the Japanese government should pay some 369 million yen in damages to residents suffering from noise pollution caused by the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma air station in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan.

The figure is higher than a lower court ruling of about 146 million yen. The suit was filed by 387 residents living near the base in Ginowan.

The high court recognized low-frequency sound from U.S. military helicopters as noise pollution in addition to noise of fighter jets and other military aircraft.

But the ruling turned down plaintiff demands for a halt to nighttime and early morning flights at the Futenma base, as did the lower court ruling.

The plaintiffs have sought a halt to such flights, a noise measuring test by the central government and compensation for further suffering. They have also claimed that the 146 million yen in compensation was low for such noise pollution.

(2010/07/29-19:30)

Court ups damages over base noise, rejects demand to halt flights

Jul 29 05:47 AM US/Eastern

(AP) - NAHA, Japan, July 29 (Kyodo) — The Fukuoka High Court on Thursday ordered the government to pay a total of 369 million yen in compensation to plaintiffs over noise caused by flights at a U.S. military base in Okinawa Prefecture, a 2.5-fold increase from the amount awarded by a lower court.

But the three-judge panel at the high court's Naha branch upheld the 2008 lower court decision that rejected residents' demands for a halt to early morning and evening flights at the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station.

Presiding Judge Yoshinori Kawabe acted on appeals against the June 2008 decision by the Naha District Court's Okinawa branch over the suit filed by around 390 residents living near the Futenma base, which is located in a densely populated area in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.

The high court accepted the plaintiffs' argument regarding psychological distress caused by low-frequency sound waves from helicopters, an argument not accepted by the lower court.

In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku told an evening news conference that the high court had accepted the government's arguments on key points, and ministries and agencies will look at Thursday's court decision in detail to decide whether to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

The top government spokesman, noting that the Futenma base is located in an area crowded with houses and schools, and is dangerous to residents, said the government thinks it is necessary to relocate the base as soon as possible.

In relocating the base within Okinawa Prefecture, the government is ready to make utmost efforts to lessen Okinawa's burden in hosting the U.S. military presence in Japan, Sengoku said.

In the lower court decision, the district court rejected demands for a halt to night flights, mainly by helicopters, saying that the Japanese government cannot restrict the activities of U.S. forces in Japan.

It also ordered the government to pay a total of about 146 million yen in compensation to the plaintiffs over noise pollution suffered to date and for psychological damage due to fear of possible aircraft crashes. But it rejected the plaintiffs' claim for future compensation.

The Futenma base occupies an area of about 480 hectares, or a quarter of Ginowan's territory, and has a single 2,800-meter runway. Fifty-two aircraft, mainly helicopters, are deployed there.

The United States agreed in 1996 to relocate the base within Okinawa Prefecture.

The previous Japanese government led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama sought to relocate the base outside of Okinawa. But the Hatoyama government gave up on the idea and reached agreement with the United States in May this year to move the base within Okinawa Prefecture from Ginowan to a less populated coastal area in the city of Nago.

Concern over the dangers posed by the Futenma base intensified after the crash of a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter in 2004 on the campus of Okinawa International University, which is adjacent to the air station.

The plaintiffs, aged 8 to 100, live in an area with noise levels of between 75 decibels and 80 decibels on an internationally recognized index called the weighted equivalent continuous perceived noise level, or WECPNL. An index of 80 decibels is said to be equivalent to the noise level in a subway car.

The plaintiffs had sought a flight ban from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

During the high court battle, the plaintiffs complained of health hazards, such as hearing difficulties, caused by aircraft noise and low-frequency sound waves from helicopters. They also noted the high risk of death from ischemic heart disease.

In response, the government argued that noise levels have improved in recent years and that the WECPNL figures are outdated as they were measured in 1977. It also said some of the plaintiffs had moved to their current residences knowing there was aircraft noise.

The plaintiffs filed the suit in 2002 against the Japanese government and the then commander of the Futenma base.

The action against the commander was moved into a separate trial. In the Supreme Court upheld lower court rulings rejecting the plaintiffs' demands against the U.S. commander.

Court orders compensation for US base noise

July 29, 2010

A high court in Japan has ordered the government to pay about 4.2 million dollars in damages to residents for being exposed to noise from a nearby US air base.

The amount is 2.5 times that ordered by a lower court.

About 400 people living near the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City in the southern prefecture of Okinawa had demanded a ban on night-time flights and compensation.

Both the residents and the state had appealed against a lower court ruling that ordered the state to compensate all the plaintiffs but did not grant a ban on flights.

On Thursday, the presiding judge at the Fukuoka High Court's branch in Okinawa ruled that the residents have suffered mental pain from the noise that has disturbed their sleep, conversation and TV watching.

The judge added that the damage is too severe for the residents to endure, and that low-frequency noise made by helicopters and propeller planes is making the damage even worse.

He ordered an increase in compensation, citing the government's failure to take radical measures against noise, even though the residents' suffering has increased since a US Marine helicopter crashed inside a nearby university campus 6 years ago. He added that a limitation on flights after 10 PM, based on an anti-noise agreement, has not been observed.

But he upheld the lower court ruling that dismissed the plaintiffs' claim for a suspension of night-time flights, saying that Japan has no law that can limit the activities of US forces.

In similar noise pollution lawsuits filed across the country, Japan's courts have ordered state compensation but not bans on flights from US and Japan's Self-Defense Forces bases.

2010/07/29 17:26(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)

Court orders compensation for noise from US base

July 29, 2010

A high court in Japan has ordered the government to pay about 4.2 million dollars in damages to residents for being exposed to noise from a nearby US air base.

The amount is 2.5 times that ordered by a lower court.

About 400 people living near the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan City in the southern prefecture of Okinawa had demanded a ban on night-time flights and compensation.

Both the residents and the state had appealed against a lower court ruling that ordered the state to compensate all the plaintiffs but did not grant a ban on flights.

On Thursday, the presiding judge at the Fukuoka High Court's branch in Okinawa ruled that the residents have suffered mental pain from the noise that has disturbed their sleep, conversation and TV watching.

The judge added that the damage is too severe for the residents to endure, and that low-frequency noise made by helicopters is making the damage even worse.

He ordered an increase in compensation, and said the situation is different from 20 years ago when standards for damages regarding base noise were established.

But he upheld the lower court ruling that dismissed the plaintiffs' claim for a suspension of night-time flights, saying that Japan has no law that can limit the activities of US forces.

In similar noise pollution lawsuits filed across the country, Japan's courts have ordered state compensation but not bans on flights from US and Japan's Self-Defense Forces bases.

2010/07/29 16:23(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)

Roos' visit to Hiroshima mixed reactions

July 29, 2010
Click for Video

A planned visit by US ambassador to Japan, John Roos, to Hiroshima is triggering various reactions in the city.

A woman in her 30s said a visit by an US envoy should have come earlier. She said she wants the ambassador to know that people are still suffering from the atomic bombings in 1945, even to this day.

An American college student who visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum said she hopes the US ambassador will be haunted by dreadful memories of the bomb as much as she is haunted.

She said she hopes that he will bring his experience back to the United States so the country can open an atomic bomb museum, to communicate the danger of nuclear weapons.

2010/07/29 15:26(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)

Japan, U.S. agree to negotiate on costs of U.S. Marines' transfer

Jul 29 12:59 AM US/Eastern

TOKYO, July 29 (AP) - (Kyodo) — Japan has told the United States that it is ready to negotiate on a possible increase in its outlays for moving some U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam, government sources said Thursday.

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa has already sent a letter to his U.S. counterpart Robert Gates that Tokyo is willing to discuss the additional expenditures requested by Washington, so the transfer will be realized by the current target of 2014, the sources said.

On Thursday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said at a news conference that Japan and the United States will discuss ways to realize the transfer on time in "a positive manner."

The U.S. defense chief sent a letter to the Japanese government in mid-June to request that Tokyo shoulder additional costs to transfer around 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam, according to the sources.

The U.S. government has said that developing infrastructure in Guam to meet an expected increase in population will cost more than previously estimated, hinting that the transfer may not be realized by the target year.

The transfer of Marines from the Japanese island to the U.S. Pacific territory is a pillar of the bilateral accord forged in 2006 on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.

The 2006 agreement said the total cost of the transfer will be $10.27 billion, of which Japan will shoulder around $6.09 billion.

The Japanese government is concerned about the delay as it is likely to affect the overall realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, including the relocation of the Marines Corps' Futenma Air Station within Okinawa.

Govt welcomes US envoy to Hiroshima ceremony

July 29, 2010

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary says the government welcomes the US plan to send an envoy to the ceremony to mark the 65th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Yoshito Sengoku said on Thursday that the United States has formally informed the government that its ambassador to Japan, John Roos, will attend the ceremony in Hiroshima on August 6th.

He noted that this will be the first time for a US government representative to attend the annual event.

Sengoku said the government hopes the occasion will serve as an opportunity for the United States to deepen its understanding of Japan's pledge to prevent another atomic catastrophe from happening.

2010/07/29 12:47(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)