Plaintiff Motomu Maya speaks at a media conference in Tokyo on July 13.

The base is used jointly by the U.S. Navy and the Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Upholding a lower court ruling, presiding Judge Toshimi Ouchi said the government failed to zone the area properly, adding that noise levels were "beyond the tolerable limit."

Both the plaintiffs and the government had appealed the ruling by the Yokohama District Court in October 2002, which ordered the government to pay ¥2.75 billion in compensation.

The high court increased the compensation in light of the prolonged suffering of the residents following the ruling by the lower court.

Although they welcomed the additional ¥1.3 billion in compensation, some plaintiffs expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling.

"The judgment was basically the same as the Yokohama District Court's," said plaintiff Motomu Maya.

Hinting at a further appeal, Reiko Okabe, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the High Court ruling "lacked any new input."

The Japan Times Weekly: July 22, 2006
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