TOKYO, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese court on Wednesday ordered the government here to pay damages to plaintiffs residing near an airbase on the outskirts of Tokyo over noise from aircraft, local media reported Wednesday.
According to the reports, while the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court dismissed the plaintiffs' petition to halt some flights, it ordered the government to pay a total of about 610 million yen (5.4 million U.S. dollars) in compensation.
The settlement was for past noise and was made to 1,000 plaintiffs residing near the U.S. Yokota Air Base. The base also host some of the Japan's Air Self-Defense Force's (ASDF) facilities.
The plaintiffs had initially sought damages in the form of monthly compensation payments of 22,000 yen for noise damage, according to the lawsuit, with the compensation also including future payments for continued suffering henceforth from aircraft noise.
The court, however, refused the plaintiffs' calls for flights by the U.S. and SDF to be halted at nighttime and in the early mornings.
The government has paid compensation to the tune of 33.5 billion yen to residents near military bases over the years, but in terms of the Yokota base, it said that soundproofing measures put in place had been factored into the compensation claim.(1 U.S. dollar equals 112.5 Japanese yen)
