On 09 October, the Relief Marking Promotion Association (RMPA) based in Ichinoseki City, Iwata Prefecture announced collaboration with Kagoshima Prefecture in applying its highly luminant RM (= Relief Marking) paint to the center line of the runway of Yakushima Airport located off the coast of southern Kyushu.
Yakushima is the first domestic airport in Japan to have this phosphorescent paint[1] applied to its runway. RMPA member Tohoku NTS Co., Ltd. is expecting that this trial run approved by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLTI) will “lead to the widespread use of phosphorescent paint in airports and disaster prevention measures across the country”.
Yakushima Airport has recently been increasing the number of night flights to meet tourist demand. Airlines have been requesting improved safety measures because of the lack of lighting on the airport runway’s center line. As a result, Kagoshima Prefectural Government, which runs the airport, has adopted as an alternative to a relatively expensive LED solution RMPA’s phosphorescent paint solution.
A pilot trial at the airport was first conducted in March 2023 to test whether the paint would be visible from approximately 1 kilometer in the air. Following this confirmation, full-scale construction ensued in September 2024 “with the cooperation of RMPA member companies Hazuki Kogyo, Otanaka Painting Co., Ltd., Mimori Painting Co., Ltd., and Tohoku NTS”. Application on Yakushima Airport subsequently “demonstrated that the system can withstand the impact and wear caused by aircraft takeoff and landing”.
The “RM phosphorescent paint” used on the airport’s runway is a patent-pending technology developed by then member companies of RMPA, an association that advertises itself as having produced the world’s first high luminance phosphorescent paint that is designed to be used on a range of outdoor structures (e.g. bridge piers, pavements) to serve as a marker for disaster evacuation and rescue activities.
RM phosphorescent paint, a transparent water-based waterproof paint based on a special acrylic resin, is able to emit light for 12 hours at night even during disasters and power outages. The paint “consumes zero power and can be installed inexpensively without the need for major construction”.
RMPA claims that performance of its RM technology is superior to conventional luminous pigments. To overcome technical challenges associated with conventional variants, which have a high specific gravity of 3.3 to 3.6 thus making it impossible to mix a large amount of the pigment into paint and emit light for a long time in outdoor conditions, RMPA cooperated with architectural painting companies, luminous manufactures, and paint manufactures.
The result of this industry cooperation was a new type of binder that enables a large amount of luminous pigment be mixed with the paint while still nevertheless retaining RM’s important waterproof and durability properties. This is combined with environmentally-friendly top and lower coatings that is all-water-based and meets the luminous performance required for outdoors application.
According to Tohoku NTS, the following tests have been conducted to prove RM phosphorescent paint’s performance:
- Accelerated weathering test (xenon lamp method): 1000 hours coating performance test
- Wet and cold cycling test: Coating film performance in 40 cycles (960 hours)
- Luminous performance measurement: In the phosphorescence performance evaluation of the tsunami evacuation guidance sign system based on the JIS Z 9097 standard[2], a luminance of 9mcd/m2 was confirmed after 720 minutes.
As a result of Yakushima Airport’s successful application of the phosphorescent paint, RMPA is expecting to be able to roll out its RM technology to other locations in Japan that require nighttime use such as helipads and rescue ports.
The association is particularly envisioning the system’s use for disaster countermeasures in regions susceptible to earthquakes, including the Noto Peninsula, the Tokyo metropolitan area, and the Nankai Trough.
Given that the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011 required large-scale relief activities by Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and U.S. Forces in “Operation TOMODACHI”, it is foreseeable that this RM phosphorescent paint could be highly effective if applied to JSDF and U.S. installations in Japan.
Notes:
[1] Phosphorescent paint, commonly referred to as “glow-in-the-dark” paint, is made from phosphors such as silver-activated zinc sulfide or doped strontium aluminate. The paint uses special pigments that absorb and store ambient or artificial light during the day and then emit a visible green to greenish-blue glow when it is night or dark. Phosphorescent paints have a sustained glow which lasts for up to 12 hours after exposure to light, fading over time. https://www.luminokrom.com/en/how-does-luminescent-paint-work/
[2] JIS Z 9097 (JIS = Japanese Industrial Standards) specifies the ‘Tsunami Evacuation Guide Sign System’ to be used in the case of evacuation to a safe place in the event of a tsunami. This particular Japanese Industrial Standard states that it is desirable for signs to have phosphorescent, retroreflective, or solar power functions, etc. as countermeasures against darkness when a tsunami occurs at night, and specifies the required performance and test methods when using phosphorescent materials. https://rmpa.jp/index.php/relief-marking/chikko/
Background Information:
https://rmpa.jp/index.php/topics/20240917/
https://companydata.tsujigawa.com/en/press-20241010-002/
https://rmpa.jp/index.php/association/
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/20241009-OYT1T50056/
https://rmpa.jp/index.php/relief-marking/chikko/
https://rmpa.jp/index.php/works_category/rmchikko/
This article was originally posted on NSBT Japan, the first defense and security industry network in Japan. The publication provides the latest information on security business trends both within Japan and overseas. Asian Military Review began exchanging articles with NSBT Japan in April 2024.
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