The High Court handed down its ruling on October 7th of last year (as the "third hearing"), and more than six months have already passed since then.
(In Japan, it is common for cases to conclude at the first oral argument and for a judgment to be issued at the second hearing in the High Court.
This alone is unusual.
Furthermore, Japan has a "Law for the Acceleration of Trials," which means that some parties have an obligation to make efforts to ensure that a judgment is rendered within two years in the first instance.
 Isn't it unusual for an interim judgment to be issued four years after the lawsuit was filed?)

In some civil cases where a judgment was handed down by the Tokyo High Court in late October last year, the Supreme Court has already decided to dismiss the appeal (making the High Court's judgment final).
I even hear such stories. An image of the notice was uploaded to X. If the appeal is dismissed, there is no obligation to hold oral arguments.
 I've seen online that even the Supreme Court's research officer (an assistant to the Supreme Court justices) and the two presiding judges of the first instance have this kind of work experience, so if it's possible to easily compile an "investigation report" and create an appeal/petition for appeal that is difficult to get approval for from all the judges, then it "might" turn out to be an interesting development.

I've seen and heard statistics indicating that around 90% of appeals and petitions for appeal in Japan are dismissed, and oral arguments are not easily convened. In this sense, I've also heard that Japan has what's essentially a "1.5-tier system," so I feel that the fact that the process is taking a little time is not necessarily a bad thing.

Furthermore, since the appeal trial is not a "trial of fact," it generally does not include procedures for "submitting new evidence" and examining the evidence.
Basically, I understand it as a trial where the court judges whether the factual findings based on the evidence submitted up to the High Court (the trial of facts) are appropriate, and whether the legal interpretation based on those findings is appropriate. Or, the judgment is limited to whether it violates the Constitution or Supreme Court precedents.

If, in the future, there is talk of "oral arguments being held at the Supreme Court," it means that "there is a very high possibility that the High Court judgment will be modified in some way." This means that while the main text of the High Court judgment will not be changed, the "act of modifying the reasoning of the main text" is included in the modification. After all, it is the Supreme Court. It will become the (temporary) standard for judgments of High Courts and District Courts nationwide.

I have obtained the appellant's "Answer".

The main points are that " the appellee 's (Japanese government's) arguments will be clarified in preparatory documents at a later date ."

Does it look like the preparatory documents will not be ready in time for the first oral argument on Friday?

Generally speaking, one might think that there is no way to conclude a case until the arguments of the appellant and appellee are presented.

The appeal is in its early stages , but what will happen?

First, let's start with the report on the district court ruling on September 20th.

 3 judges

The oral argument will be held on May 21st (scheduled to open at 1400), and you will be able to observe it.

 We would like to ask for your cooperation so that as many people as possible can participate in the lottery.

An article about the oral argument was published in the Tokyo Shimbun.

 https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/285723

 10 consecutive proceedings have been held since February 22, 2022, and the preliminary documents, evidence, and evidence explanations submitted during that period will be uploaded one by one, so please wait for a while.

 Under the direction of the judge, we submitted documents on each topic, and the culmination of our efforts was oral argument on October 24th.

It took about 50 minutes, but it was also the longest time ever .

The next meeting will be a progress discussion on December 5th.

It seems likely that this will be the final proceeding discussion regarding the plaintiff eligibility and disposition issues.

I am keeping an eye on how the judge will lead the case, whether they will proceed to a "final judgment" at the door, an "interim judgment", or a discussion of illegality and legality.

According to an announcement by the Tokyo District Court.

https://www.courts.go.jp/app/botyokoufu_jp/detail?id=11654&list_id=15,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25

The lottery will be held at 13:40, so please line up in the lottery line 5 minutes early.

I would appreciate it if you could listen to it in any way possible.

Thank you.

The debriefing session after the trial is scheduled to begin at 3:30 pm at the House of Representatives Building 2.

The 14th date (progress discussion) on Sept. 5 is over.

It has been one year and three months since the case was switched to the progress conference in June last year.

There is a possibility that the judge will make an interim consideration soon.

This is not a notice of the conclusion of the trial,

the main issue (whether the government's administrative action is illegal or legal) is likely to be discussed,

I think everyone has his or her own way of taking it.

I guess everyone has his or her own way of taking it.

It is not yet clear in what form the plaintiffs will hear the interim consideration.

Nevertheless, in a court case seeking relief for noise damage (nuisance) and falling object/crash plane hazards,

At least for the number of plaintiffs who can be found to have disposability and plaintiffs' standing,

I guess we will hear officially in the not-too-distant future whether or not the decision is judgment-like or tentative.

In the midst of all this, the oral arguments on October 24th have been building up to this point in the proceeding discussions from last June to this Sept.

We will be presenting oral arguments regarding the dispositional nature of the case and the standing of the plaintiffs, especially with regard to noise.

Since we have limited time, we will not argue endlessly.

We hope that you will be able to participate in the lottery on Oct.24th, unless you are Corona positive.

Thank you for your cooperation.