4TH LD: Court rejects demand to stop helicopter flights at Futemma

Tag : Base Station
4TH LD: Court rejects demand to stop helicopter flights at FutemmaU.S. base+

Released : Thursday, June 26, 2008 5:52 AM
NAHA, Japan, June 26-(Kyodo), (EDS: ADDING INFO)
The Naha District Court rejected a demand from residents near theU.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture onThursday to stop helicopter takeoffs and landings in the earlymorning and evening.
The court, however, ordered the state to pay a total of about 146million yen in compensation to all 392 plaintiffs for damage totheir health from the noise to date, but rejected their claim forcompensation for future noise damage.
The plaintiffs, who live near the base in Ginowan, had demandedthat the state stop the helicopters from taking off or landing andpay them 1 million yen each in compensation.
The ruling by the district court's Okinawa branch was the firstlegal judgment regarding noise from the Futemma Air Station, a U.S.Marine Corps base in Okinawa that takes up about a quarter ofGinowan's area.
The ruling came after the 2004 crash of a U.S. Marine Corpshelicopter at the campus of Okinawa International University, whichheightened safety concerns near the base.
The accident "increased the mental damage of the plaintiffs. Thegovernment's soundproofing measures are insufficient," PresidingJudge Yoshimitsu Kawai said.
Concerning the plaintiff's demand that the flights be stopped, thejudge said, "The state is not in a position to regulate the U.S.military's activities."
Zenji Shimada, the leader of the plaintiffs, said, "As thesuspension of flights was not recognized, I can only value theruling as about 30 percent." He added that the court does notunderstand the feelings of the people near the base.
The plaintiffs said they plan to appeal the ruling.
Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told aregular press conference that it is regrettable that part of thegovernment's argument was not accepted and that the government willconsider with other related ministers how to deal with the ruling.
The top government spokesman also said the government "will work asmuch as possible to reduce the burden on people in OkinawaPrefecture" by such means as taking measures to remove dangersuntil the planned relocation of the Futemma Air Station within theprefecture is realized.
The court also recognized that all of the plaintiffs living in anarea with a noise level greater than 75 on an internationallyrecognized index qualify for government compensation, saying "75"is the standard that falls under the category of illegality.
The index -- the Weighted Equivalent Continuous Perceived NoiseLevel index -- is an international environmental index for gaugingairplane noise.
The court to some degree recognized a causal relationship betweenthe noise and health damage, saying, "There is a respective degreeof the occurrence of such symptoms as high blood pressure,headaches and shoulder stiffness due to stress caused by airplanenoise."
Though the court did not recognize a direct causal relationshipbetween health damage and low-frequency sound produced byhelicopters, it said, "It can be presumed that there was mentaldamage such as sense of discomfort" based on such occurrences asjolting of furniture.
The state denied there was a causal relationship between the noiseand health damage and said it is not authorized to regulate theflights of U.S. military planes.
The United States and Japan agreed in May 2006 to relocate theFutemma Air Station from a densely populated area in Ginowan toNago, also in Okinawa Prefecture.
But it is unclear when the relocation will be realized due todifficulties encountered in talks between the central andprefectural governments over a replacement airfield to be built inNago, although the Japanese and U.S. governments want to relocatethe airfield by 2014.
Ro Manabe, chief of the Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau,said in a press conference that the ministry expects to proceedwith the relocation plan as scheduled.
"We'd like to realize the relocation in accordance with theagreement between the Japanese and U.S. governments," Manabe said,adding that problems of noise and risk regarding U.S. militaryplanes are expected to be resolved if the relocation is realized.
The residents filed the suit claiming noise and low-frequency soundproduced by helicopters are causing them to suffer hearingdisabilities, high blood pressure, headaches and shoulderstiffness.
They argued their sleep and daily conversation are disturbed whilethey face fears about crashes and objects falling from aircraft.
"The noise, which harms health and life, is illegal and thegovernment should suspend flights of U.S. military planes from 7p.m. to 7 a.m. next morning every day," they said.
When a group of plaintiffs first filed the suit in 2002, they alsodemanded that the commander of the base pay compensation. Thatlawsuit, which was tried separately, was dismissed and the rulingwas finalized at the Supreme Court in 2006.
Copyright 2008 Kyodo News International, Inc.
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Kyodo News International, Inc. / Japan Economic Newswire
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