TOKYO -- Some 4,900 Japanese residents living near a U.S. military base just west of Tokyo won a noise pollution lawsuit against the government Wednesday for 2.7 billion yen (22.0 million dollars), a court official said.

The award only covers past damages, the Yokohama district court official said. Residents have complained of irregular blood pressure, annoyance and psychological suffering due to the constant noise from takeoffs and landings.

The ruling would not bring the flights to a halt nor award damages for future suffering, the official said.

But the ruling lowered the noise tolerance level set in previous similar suits brought against the Japanese government concerning the Atsugi Air Base, jointly used by the U.S. military and Japan's Self-Defense Forces aircraft.

Judge Tamio Okamitsu awarded damages to those who lived in areas exposed to a weighted equivalent continuous perceived noise level, a measure of pollution, that was over 75, lowering the previous benchmark of 80. "The noise level is intense," AFP quoted Okamitsu as saying, adding; "The victims suffered damage that was more than they could bear."

The judgment follows similar rulings in favor of plaintiffs living in lower noise level areas in suits brought against major military bases at Yokota near Tokyo, Komatsu in northern Japan and Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.