Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is home to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and other units in Ginowan, Okinawa. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)

NAHA, Okinawa — A Japanese appeals court has increased compensation for Okinawans affected by aircraft noise from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, adding $5.8 million to a lower court’s 2022 award, bringing the total to $14.7 million.

The Fukuoka High Court in Naha city extended the payment period for the 3,192 plaintiffs by 35 months, covering the time their case was pending appeal, according to court documents obtained by Stars and Stripes.

The three-judge panel, led by Judge Takashi Miura, upheld the original monthly compensation amount.

Lead plaintiff Kenei Yamashiro expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling, saying the court “did not accept our claims.”

“But, on the other hand, it is good that they accepted that the noise and danger is affecting the lives of the locals, because we were given compensation,” he said by phone Tuesday.

The plaintiffs, divided into two tiers based on noise exposure, will now receive payments for 110 months, up from 75 months. The upper tier will receive approximately $6,600 per resident — up from $4,500 in the original ruling — or $60 per month, while the second group will receive about $3,300 per resident — up from $2,250 — or $30 per month.

The plaintiffs had originally sought $11,000 and $6,600 per resident, respectively.

Naha District Court’s Okinawa city branch first ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in March 2022, finding they had suffered impermissible noise levels. That ruling awarded $8.9 million in damages over a 75-month period.

The Japanese government is responsible for paying damages in lawsuits related to U.S. military aircraft noise. The Okinawa Defense Bureau, part of Japan’s Ministry of Defense, had requested that the original ruling be dismissed.

“We will consider carefully the content of the sentencing, and deal with it appropriately after coordinating with related organizations,” a bureau spokesman said by phone Wednesday. Some Japanese officials speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.

The plaintiffs decided against further appeals, citing the difficulty of changing the ruling and the advancing age of many participants, their attorney, Osamu Ikeda, said by phone Tuesday.

“But the amount of compensation is difficult to accept because it should reflect the level of noise, but it hasn’t changed since the first lawsuit that was filed about 10 years ago,” he said.

The ruling is the latest in a series of noise-related lawsuits filed by Okinawans living near MCAS Futenma and Kadena Air Base.

Between 1982 and December 2018, residents filed five lawsuits over aircraft noise, according to an Okinawa prefectural publication, U.S. Military Bases in Okinawa. Three of those cases involved Kadena and two were related to MCAS Futenma.

In 2019, the Naha branch reduced a 2016 award for Okinawans suing over aircraft noise near MCAS Futenma from about $22.6 million to approximately $19.6 million.