Via the Nippon Paint "HAPPY PAINT PROJECT", we are cooperating in the Kagawa Prefecture Sightseeing Bus Paint Art Project that aims to put smiles on the faces of local kids who get to travel on buses decorated with our paints.
2022/04/08
Nippon Paint Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku Tokyo, hereafter referred to as "our company"), which handles Decorative Coatings, has been involved since last September to March this year in the "HAPPY PAINT PROJECT" that delivers happiness to society through paints. Our company participated in a technical guidance and paint providing capacity in a sightseeing bus paint art project run by Kagawa Prefecture.
This project - built on a sentiment of "Let's take kids all over Japan on one-off art buses" - was put together by Toko Bus, a Kagawa Prefecture sightseeing bus company, that wants to bring smiles to the faces of kids even during the Covid pandemic. Backed by crowdfunding money, the project offers fun travel to children on buses turned into artwork using paints. As a paint company rooted in the area, we participated in this event with our Shikoku region branch taking the lead, hoping that we can contribute to regional revitalization through the beauty of our paints.
The project was divided into three stages (three buses). The first was the painting of the sightseeing bus "Nasu no Yoichi" (a samurai from the Heian period) in September last year, completed thanks to design and painting help from the Setouchi Art Collective (a group of professional artists active in the Setouchi area). The second was "Challenge", which was completed together with ten local Kagawa University students in December last year.
The third bus painting - "Cosmos" - was undertaken between 19 and 21 March of this year by 108 kids and their parents, and backed by painting guidance provided by our Shikoku region branch manager and several staff members. During this third part of the project, "Nasu no Yoichi" and "Challenge" were put on public display, adding to a lively event that saw children running around in excitement as they painted and took commemorative photos of themselves alongside the cosmos flowers they had painted.
The main organizer of this event, Toko Bus, said, "We are planning special bus tours for kids with the originally painted buses. The buses will cheer up not only the passengers but also those who see the buses. We sincerely hope that the bus tour will become a shaft of light for revival of the tourism industry and the bus industry, which have struggled with the impact of the Covid pandemic."
Like Toko Bus, we too hope that these originally painted buses will tour with the hopes of many while lighting up the whole of Japan with their paintwork art.
Commencing in 2017, the "HAPPY PAINT PROJECT" has staged a total of 40 events in 18 prefectures throughout Japan, with more than 2,800 people participating in them. We at Nippon Paint will continue to work on activities that bring happiness to society via the "HAPPY PAINT PROJECT".
Video showing the making of the project
Videos can be viewed at the Toko Bus & Toko Travel Official Channel
- 1st stage: Nasu no Yoichi: https://youtu.be/3ZJ8UdGsqC8
- 2nd stage: Challenge: https://youtu.be/Qrbe1I1rmu0
- 3rd stage: Cosmos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeGPslq_xro
Project Outline
- Event name: "Let's take kids all over Japan on one-off art buses" Project
- Date & time: September 2021 to March 2022
- Location: Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture
- Organizer: Toko Bus Co., Ltd.
- Collaborators: Setouchi Art Collective, Kagawa University Project Team "KADAI-CREATIVE", Nippon Paint Co., Ltd., and crowdfunders
- Paints: Water-based Fine Si
About HAPPY PAINT PROJECT
This is an ESG activity that Nippon Paint commenced in 2017 with the concept of "delivering happiness to society through paint".
The Nippon Paint Group has set "education", "empowerment" and "engagement" as the three pillars of the group's ESG activities, and via this project, we support regional revitalization, support school education and strive to create good memories for kids and others. We solve social issues through paint art, contribute to local communities, convey the joy of painting to the world and help create innovative paints and painting cultures.
As of 6 April 2022, the project has held a total of 40 events nationwide, and the total number of participants has reached 2,800.
From 2019, we named the project "HAPPY PAINT PROJECT" from the desire to "deliver happiness with paint".
[Contact for inquires from media outlets]
Dairaku or Cho of Public Relations Department of Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd.
TEL：+81-(0)50-3131-7416 Email：nphd-kouho＠nipponpaint.jp
【Contact for inquires regarding this industry-academia collaboration】
Marketing Department of Sales Division
TEL：+81-(0)3-3740-1488 Email：nptumarkpr＠nipponpaint.jp