Hanako SEO
Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies,
The University of Tokyo
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Keywords: “Developing the Inaccessible Land”, “The Construction Record of the Tokai Nuclear Power Plant”, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, PR films, nuclear energy
This research analyzes the representation of nuclear energy in PR films from 1959 to 1968, based on interviews and the private papers of the producers. This is important because until now Shunya Yoshimi (2012) and Hiroyuki Shimizu (2013) have argued about the representation of nuclear energy in PR films in Japan using limited sources, and have not been concerned so much with the social context of orders and producers.
Thirteen PR films, including the newly discovered “Developing the Inaccessible Land” (1968) from five archives were analyzed: Kirokueiga Hozon Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Library, Kawasaki City Museum, Neoneo Meets!!, and the Science Film Museum. These sources were examined using the methods of historical sociology. This revealed that PR films had three meanings: Atoms for Peace, Technology, and Modernization. It also discovered that the producers of two of the films had different views from the aim of nuclear power promotion, instead concerned about documenting the reality of nuclear power.
Further research will be needed to reveal how PR films were perceived at the time and the social context of their audiences.