A high court on Friday upheld a lower court ruling that ordered the government to compensate residents near U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture for aircraft noise, raising the damages to ¥735 million ($6.8 million).
The Hiroshima High Court, however, dismissed plaintiffs' demand to have nighttime and early morning flights by the U.S. military and the Self-Defense Forces at the base halted, preserving the ruling of the lower court, which ordered the state to pay ¥558 million in damages four years ago.
The 654 residents filed the suit with the Iwakuni branch of the Yamaguchi District Court in 2009, seeking ¥1.8 billion in compensation for the past noise damage, ¥23,000 a month each for future damages, and the suspension of said flights.