Review of environmental measures for noise issues around defense facilities in Japan

摘要

This paper presents a review of environmental measures by Ministry of Defense (MOD) and Defense Facilities Environment Improvement Association (DFEIA) for managing noise issues around defense facilities in Japan. The MOD and DFEIA have long implemented various environmental measures such as monetary compensation for removal of houses, subsidies for soundproofing of private houses, schools and hospitals, construction of noise barriers and embankment at the boundary of airbases, subsidies for community service improvement by local governments surrounding defense facilities and restriction of night-time flight operations, to maintain smooth and stable (secure) operation of defense facilities including airbases and artillery ranges. The legal bases for these measures differ from those for civil airports. The total budget spent for these measures during the last 37 years amounts to two trillion yen for soundproofing of private houses alone. This paper also presents brief report of noise indices and specifications for soundproofing construction around airbases and artillery ranges.