The commander of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, did not appear in court Thursday for the first hearing on a lawsuit filed against him by local residents over "intolerable" noise from the base.
Col. Richard Leuking did not submit a written answer to the Naha District Court's Okinawa branch.
The court informed the commander of the lawsuit by serving a public notification after he refused to accept a complaint served by the court via the postal system Feb. 25.
Tsutomu Arakaki, head of the plaintiffs' legal team, told the court that, even if Japan has no jurisdiction over suits filed against the U.S. government, "We are holding (Leuking) accountable as an individual who committed illegal behavior."