Okinawan residents sue government for U.S. Marine base noise

http://japandailypress.com/okinawan-residents-sue-government-for-u-s-marine-base-noise-0918142

By Ida Torres / November 9, 2012

In an attempt to push for an early relocation of the air station, residents near the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma filed a lawsuit against the central government in the Naha District Court in the city of Okinawa. 1,199 plaintiffs are seeking 470 million yen ($5.9 million U.S. dollars) as compensation for excessive noise levels coming from the base.

According to the lawyers representing the residents, people living near the station are exposed to a Weighted Equivalent Continuous Perceived Noise Level (WECPNL) of 75 or higher since 2009, noise levels that are higher than those of subway cars. Hideo Miyaguni, head of the legal team for the plaintiffs, says that though they are seeking damages, their ultimate goal is the removal of the base whose continued presence is unacceptable in the heavily populated city of Ginowan. Japanese and U.S. governments have previously agreed to relocation the Futenma station to the less crowded Henoko, an area further north on Okinawa but no progress has been made so far. This lawsuit is different from one filed by 3,000 plaintiffs seeking an end to the presence of the U.S. bases and seeking compensation for noise-induced illness. The central government has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

=============================================

I deliberately put this adjacent to the article on how people reject facts that don't fit their prior beliefs.

Based on experience, I expect that people who label themselves liberals will sympathize with the Japanese. I suspect conservatives would say the Japanese should be grateful for our protection.

I know from direct experience that when I say that a lot of Mexicans have moved into my neighborhood, and torture me by playing very loud music with very loud bass, liberals will castigate me as racist, and say that I should move If I don't like the noise. Conservatives will sympathize because it fits into their xenophobia.

I will try to get some direct evidence on people's reactions to the Japanese complaints about Americans noise, to test whether my expectations are correct, because sometimes people do surprise me.