ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the issue of nuclear power in one of the bestselling videogame franchises of all time, Square's Final Fantasy series. The ethics and safety of using nuclear power as an energy source comes under intense scrutiny in Final Fantasy VII, released as the flagship title for the original PlayStation console in 1997. Examining the nuclear discourse in Japanese narrative texts allows us to understand Japanese attitudes towards war, technology, and power. The reaction to nuclear weapons in Japanese art has attracted much academic attention, and the fear of nuclear attack is a universal human concern. However, Japanese nuclear discourse focuses not only on weaponry, like atomic bombs and missiles, but also on nuclear power as an energy source. The fear of radiation from nuclear reactors has been studied in terms of political protest, but less in terms of artistic expression.
