An F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter, seen from the Sunabe district of Chatan town, Okinawa, prepares to land at Kadena Air Base, Jan. 26, 2026. (Ryan M. Breeden/Stars and Stripes)
NAHA, Okinawa — A Japanese court has awarded about $16.3 million to Okinawans affected by Kadena Air Base aircraft noise, the latest ruling in a long-running series of lawsuits over noise from U.S. military airfields on the island.
Naha District Court’s Okinawa city branch on Jan. 23 ordered the Japanese government to compensate plaintiffs for damages suffered between February 2019 and July 2025, according to the ruling. Individual compensation varies based on how long each plaintiff lived in designated areas during that period.
Of the 5,028 plaintiffs originally included in the lawsuit filed Jan. 21, 2022, some have since died or withdrawn, a court spokesman told Stars and Stripes by phone Wednesday. He did not know how many plaintiffs remain eligible for compensation. Some Japanese government officials must speak to the media on condition of anonymity.
A three-judge panel ruled that Kadena aircraft noise disrupted residents’ daily lives and caused “psychological harm such as anxiety, irritability and anxiety about aircraft accidents due to aircraft noise, and sleep disruption,” according to the ruling signed by Presiding Judge Yoshitsugu Kajiura.
Plaintiffs suffered “considerable mental distress,” he said. Measures such as soundproofing homes near the base have not fully addressed the problem, the court found.
However, the judges said the Japanese government lacks authority to regulate or restrict Kadena’s flight operations and dismissed a portion of the lawsuit that sought limits on aircraft activity, according to the ruling.
Compensation amounts are based on distance from the base.
Residents living closest to the airfield — including those in the Sunabe district of Chatan town and the Yara and Kaneku districts of Kadena town — are eligible for about $118 per month for a maximum of 6 1/2 years, according to court documents.
Those living farthest from the base — including residents of the Iramina and Zakimi districts of Yomitan village and the Yamauchi district of Okinawa city — are eligible for about $29 per month.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys Yuji Fujita and Ryu Gobara did not return calls from Stars and Stripes seeking comment on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Residents near U.S. bases on Okinawa have filed multiple lawsuits over aircraft noise since the early 1980s. Between 1982 and 2018, five such lawsuits were filed, according to an Okinawa prefectural publication, “U.S. Military Bases in Okinawa.” Three of those cases involved Kadena, while two targeted Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
The largest settlement came in 2017, when a court awarded 22,054 people living near Kadena about $265 million. At least three additional noise-related lawsuits have been filed since December 2018.
In February, a Japanese appeals court increased compensation for residents affected by aircraft noise from MCAS Futenma, adding about $5.8 million to a lower court’s 2022 award and bringing the total to roughly $14.7 million.
AloJapan.com