On the 19th, the Yokohama District Court in Japan issued a ruling on the noise issue at the Atsugi Base in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is jointly used by the US military stationed in Japan and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, requiring the Japanese government to compensate local residents about 3.9 billion yen (approximately 104 million ringgit).
This noise compensation lawsuit was filed by about 8,000 residents living near the Atsugi Base.
On the day, the Yokohama District Court determined that the noise from this naval air base "has caused damage that exceeds the socially acceptable limits of everyday life."
The judgment indicated that the base noise measured in the areas where the plaintiffs reside, referencing relevant standards from the World Health Organization and Japan's Ministry of the Environment, falls within a high range, resulting in serious infringements such as sleep disturbances.
The court believed that, even considering the nature of the base, the damage mentioned above already exceeds tolerable limits and constitutes an illegal infringement on the health and living environment of the residents.
After the ruling, the plaintiffs' attorney, Maruken Funatsu, stated that although there have been multiple previous judgments determining the Atsugi Base noise as illegal, the Japanese government has yet to take fundamental countermeasures.
Regarding the Atsugi Base noise issue, other groups have continuously filed lawsuits since 1976, requesting a ban on military aircraft flights at night and in the early morning and seeking compensation. In the fifth lawsuit in November 2024, the court did not approve the request to ban flights but did rule that the Japanese government should pay about 5.9 billion yen to the plaintiff groups for previous noise harm. The group of plaintiffs in this lawsuit has made only compensation claims.