Over 90% of Hiroshima islanders near US military base troubled by noise: survey

HIROSHIMA — Over 90% of the residents of Atatajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, located near a U.S. military base, said they are troubled by the noise of U.S. military aircraft, according to a survey by a citizens’ group and other parties.

Atatajima Island, which is part of the Hiroshima Prefecture city of Otake, is located roughly 6 kilometers northeast of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture. It has a population of about 230 people.

The survey on noise pollution was conducted for the first time in March by parties including a citizens’ group opposed to expansion of the Iwakuni base, targeting all 84 households on the island that are members of the residents’ association. Fifty-three people in 52 households responded, and the results were released on April 9.

Of the respondents, 92.4% answered that the noise “interferes with sleep” and “interrupts phone calls,” among other inconveniences. Regarding the time of day when they experience noise, 44.4% said “all day long,” 37.8% said “from 6:30 a.m. to noon,” while 6.7% said they do not feel the aircraft are noisy.

The number of flights over the island has increased following the transfer of carrier-based aircraft from the U.S. Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture to the Iwakuni base in March 2018. According to the Hiroshima Prefectural Government, noise levels were found to have reached 70 decibels or louder on 2,144 occasions in the first half of fiscal 2023 — 2.6 times the corresponding figure of 832 observed in the first half of fiscal 2017.

(Japanese original by Deockwoo An, Hiroshima Bureau)