At a protest against noise pollution staged yesterday outside Sagami-Ono station in Kanagawa, a number of passers-by suffered injuries as serious as perforated eardrums, owing to the high volume of the protesters` PA system. Measurements indicate that the noise level reached 120 decibels, equivalent to a Boeing 747 flying through the station.
Organizer Shizuka Onegai explained the reasons for the protest. “People are tired of having their peace constantly disrupted by the ceaseless noise from announcements, military aircraft and store jingles,” she said. “Unfortunately, we weren`t getting peoples` attention just by using our loudhailers, so we decided to use our PA system, turned up to eleven.”
However, this also failed to get the message across. “I couldn`t hear a word of what they were saying,” said one Sagami-Ono resident. “The volume was so high that it was completely distorting the sound, then when I went to ask them to turn it down, I had to shout to make myself heard over their generator.”
Despite the harm to passers-by and the lack of response from the public, Onegai remained undeterred. “We do regret these injuries,” she said, “but we think this is the most effective way of conveying our message. We`ll continue to campaign long and loud for the sake of peace and quiet.”
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