Latest trends in noise issues related with the progress in airport and air transportation in Japan

In Japan, in response to the growing demand for air transportation, reinforcement of airport such as runway construction/extension as well as introduction of new flight routes and relaxation of night time curfew are in progress at major airports in order to expand air traffic capacity. On the other, privatization of airport management has been promoted and the responsibility for the preservation of airport environment has been also left to the airport operating body at several airports. These situational changes in airport and air transportation functions have been inevitably causing residents near the airport and flight routes to suffer from concerns about new noise and health problems, concerns about falling objects from the flying aircraft, etc. To cope with such people's fear about deterioration of their living environment and to progress further air transportation and airport operations smoothly, the government and airport operators are, therefore, implementing various new noise measures and information dissemination to people and local governments around the airport. This paper introduces the latest situation of such aircraft noise policy in Japan and discusses immediate concerns.