The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered the government to pay some 2.4 billion yen in damages to 4,763 residents near the U.S. Yokota Air Base, west of Tokyo, for noise pollution caused by U.S. military aircraft.
The court, however, rejected the plaintiffs' request for the U.S. government to suspend early morning and late night flights at the base, saying it is beyond the jurisdiction of a Japanese civil court.
Presiding Judge Toshiko Sekino of the court's Hachioji branch also rejected requests for compensation for future suffering.