A majority of residents near an Air Self-Defense Force base in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, on Sunday voted in favor of putting air conditioners in schoolrooms. They convened a local referendum on the matter because the green-minded mayor opposes the idea.

The movement emerged among parents in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, who believe their children would be disturbed by noise if they open the windows during the hot summer. But Mayor Masato Fujimoto, 53, himself a former teacher, opposes using air conditioners in classrooms, and instead advocates living more "in harmony with nature."

He can ignore the outcome of the referendum because it is not legally binding. Also, fewer than one in three eligible voters cast a ballot, which the mayor had set as the threshold for withdrawing his opposition. Only 31.54 percent voted.