by Fukuroi Police Station and Fukuroi City Tourism Association recently produced an educational animated video encouraging people to wear helmets when riding bicycles. A screening was held at the station on the 16th. About 30 people attended, including the head of the local government, high school students who voiced the characters in the video, and active police officers.
The video is about one minute long. The five members of the association’s official mascots, the “Fukuroi Tourism Supporters,” enjoy cycling to Hotasan Soneiji Temple while appealing for the importance of wearing helmets.
According to the station, the project was launched last summer to raise awareness of helmet use, especially among high school students with a low helmet use rate. The voice actors were from the same generation to reach a broad audience, especially among younger generations, and the illustrations were done with the cooperation of students from the “Human Academy Shizuoka School.”
Saya Tsukamoto (21), a police officer who played cheerleader Shizuka Haranoya, said, “When I was recording my voice, it was just a line drawing, so I was moved when I saw the finished video. Since spring, I’ve been assigned to the traffic division, so I’ll continue spreading the word about road safety.”
Animation team leader Ryoya Iwasaki (28) said, “The voice actors brought the characters to life, and it was a wonderful work. I hope that many people who watch this video will wear helmets and that there will be even one fewer traffic accidents.” The video will be released on the official Shizuoka Prefectural Police channel on YouTube and shown at the police station and local public facilities.
