The government will not appeal a high court ruling on a damages suit in which residents living in areas surrounding the Atsugi air base in Kanagawa Prefecture sought to halt evening and early morning flights of Self-Defense Forces and U.S. military aircraft, Defense Agency chief Hosei Norota said Thursday.
Because the plaintiffs have already decided not to appeal, the second damages suit over noise pollution stemming from the base will come to an end nearly 15 years after it was filed in 1984.
"The ruling is in line with the framework of an earlier Supreme Court ruling (which did not recognize the request to halt the flights), and the government has decided not to appeal," Norota told a regular news conference.
"We would like to make further efforts to gain the understanding of residents living in the area around the Atsugi base," he said.
In its ruling, the high court ordered the government to pay 134 people about 170 million yen for past damages. The court rejected their demands for future damages.