SAGA, Japan (Kyodo) -- A court on Friday ruled that it is legal for the local government to allow its land to be used free of charge for drainage work linked to a Ground Self-Defense Force camp in southwestern Japan that is under construction ahead of hosting Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft.

The Saga District Court rejected the claim by 40 plaintiffs that it was illegal for the Saga prefectural government to permit the state to use its land, based on an ordinance on the local airport, when the lot is located outside the airport.

The court said the land is deemed as part of Saga airport.

According to the ruling, the Saga prefectural government in December 2023 allowed the Defense Ministry's Kyushu Defense Bureau to use the land at no cost during drainage work around the GSDF base construction site. The Saga government also provided soil and sand for free.

The ministry plans to deploy a total of 17 V-22 Ospreys to the base in Saga Prefecture in July. The aircraft are currently stationed at the GSDF's Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo.

A separate lawsuit filed in 2023 is under way at the district court, with residents seeking to halt the building of the Osprey base. The suit was filed amid concerns over the safety of the Osprey aircraft, fueled by the deadly crash of a U.S. military Osprey off a southwestern Japan island in November 2023.