"Neighbor's Pond Frogs Noisy, Lawsuit Filed" Noise Pollution Headache in Japan

New Year's Eve Bell Ringing Also Canceled... Festival Complaints Expected
Characterized by 'Zero Tolerance Noise' That Does Not Allow Any Noise

Noise pollution has also emerged as a social issue in Japan. While some places have canceled the ringing of the New Year's Eve bell, there have been cases where lawsuits were filed out of anger over the sound of frogs croaking in a neighbor's pond. Experts pointed out that recent noise complaints mainly consist of so-called 'intolerant noise,' where people, dissatisfied with their own situation, cannot tolerate any sound and immediately report it.

On the 9th, Mainichi Shimbun reported that events have been canceled or relocated due to noise complaints. In fact, a temple in Tokyo stopped its New Year's Eve bell-ringing event on the 31st of last month after police received complaints that the bell sound was too loud.

This temple traditionally rang the bell twice at 5 a.m. on the 1st and 15th of every month. Complaints about the noise were filed by nearby residents to the police. The temple responded by reducing the number of bell rings, but a few hours after ringing the bell in November, an unexplained fire broke out at the temple. The temple judged this as retaliation for the noise and, fearing further damage, decided to cancel the New Year's Eve bell-ringing event.

Mainichi pointed out that noise complaints in Japan are generally not caused by the noise itself but are often an expression of the complainant's anger or dissatisfaction using noise as an excuse. Norihashi Hashimoto, head of the Comprehensive Noise Problem Research Institute, explained, "In the past, the problem was 'phonophobia,' where people felt sounds were loud when they were in a bad psychological state. Recently, however, there has been an increase in people who, feeling pessimistic about their situation, cannot tolerate any sound at all. This is the so-called 'intolerant noise.'

Complaints and lawsuits related to noise pollution have been occurring throughout Japan over the past five years. A representative case was in 2021 when a lawsuit was filed at the Tokyo District Court demanding the removal of all frogs living in a neighbor's pond and 750,000 yen (6.82 million won) in mental damages, claiming the frog croaking was unbearable. The court ruled that "the sound of frogs croaking is a natural sound and cannot be considered beyond the limit of tolerance," dismissing the claim. This lawsuit, which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, attracted attention as a trial reflecting the sensitivities of people during a large-scale infectious disease outbreak.

Notice from Tokyo Sokenji about the suspension of the New Year's Eve bell-ringing event due to residents' complaints about the loud bell sound. (Photo by Sokenji)

There have also been cases where noise complaints led to loss of life. In December 2018, a visually impaired man in Tokyo was hit and killed by a car while crossing a crosswalk on his way to work. Nearby residents had filed complaints with local authorities that the audio signals for the visually impaired at the crosswalk were too loud. Due to these complaints, the signals were silenced from night until early morning, during which the accident occurred.

As noise pollution continues to be a problem, Mainichi reported that festival organizers are repeatedly reconsidering their plans for the upcoming spring and summer festivals. For example, the Bon Odori events held across Japan on August 15 involve dancing to loud drumbeats, but complaints about the drum noise have increased in recent years. As a result, some festivals have changed venues or replaced the drums with electronic sounds.

In particular, in Japan, people tend to avoid confronting those who cause noise directly to express their dissatisfaction, which has caused government offices to struggle with malicious noise complaints. Mainichi advised, "Rather than avoiding direct communication, the basic solution is to communicate first and build good human relationships."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.