The Yokohama District Court on Wednesday ordered the government to suspend nighttime flights by Self-Defense Forces aircraft at the Atsugi base near Tokyo due to excessive aircraft noise, but rejected the plaintiffs' demand to ground U.S. military planes.
It is the first court ruling to suspend flights since noise pollution suits involving air bases started being filed in the 1970s.
The base is jointly used by the U.S. Navy and the Maritime Self-Defense Force.