Japan high court hears arguments in Futenma noise pollution lawsuit

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Japan high court hears arguments in Futenma noise pollution lawsuit
By Chiyomi Sumida, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Thursday, October 22, 2009

NAHA, Okinawa — Arguments on whether to pay nearly 400 Japanese residents about $1.3 million in damages over noise pollution from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma were heard in high court Tuesday, the same day U.S. and Japanese officials were addressing the future of the air station.

The Japanese government, which the residents claim is responsible for the damages, was ordered in June 2008 by the Naha District Court to pay 396 residents for mental and physical suffering.

The lower court, however, dismissed a demand by residents to reduce the hours each day that flight operations are permitted at the facility. The court said the Japanese government has no control over military operations at the air station.

Both residents and the government appealed, and the first hearing at the high court began in April.

During Tuesday’s session, Ginowan Mayor Yoichi Iha told the three-judge panel that the noise from the air station has increased considerably since the U.S. and Japanese governments agreed in 1996 to close Futenma.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=65535