Shin-Ra
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The Shin-Ra Electric Power Company (神羅電気動力株式会社) is a ruthless corporation which controls most of the world in the PlayStation and PC RPG Final Fantasy VII produced by Square. Shin-Ra is named after the family that runs the corporation.
Originally a small weapons company, Shin-Ra grew into a multi-conglomerate and de facto world government when Mako power was developed. Mako energy is created through the process of pumping pure Mako itself out of the lifestream and into a mako reactor where it is processed (creating, as a by-product, low-grade materia crystals, sold for further profit) and turned into electricity. Shin-Ra had incredible profits from the development of this technology, and proceeded to build the city of Midgar. As the available resources of Mako were depleted, the greedy and ruthless President Shinra started to search for "The Promised Land" a place abundant in Mako, where a new city, "Neo-Midgar" was to be constructed.
Shin-Ra comprises several departments: Urban Planning (headed by Reeve, a.k.a. Cait Sith); Peacekeeping (headed by Heidegger); Weapons Development (headed by Scarlet); Science (headed by Hojo) and Space Exploration (headed by Palmer). Shin-Ra is led by two different presidents throughout the plot of Final Fantasy VII: President Shinra and his son Rufus (who was vice-president before his father was killed by Sephiroth.)
Shin-Ra controls its own military, consisting of normal officers, as well as the specially trained forces known as SOLDIER. Shin-Ra also employs a group, known as the Turks, whose duties involve the identifiction of potential SOLDIER recruits as well as any insidious tasks requested by the upper management.
Shin-Ra owns the infrastructure of Midgar, the Junon military base, and the Mako reactors littered about the world of Final Fantasy VII.
In the game Final Fantasy X-2, a member of the Gullwings named Shinra talks about extracting pure energy from the core of the planet.
Trivia
- In popular culture, the term "shinra" is applied to a large and powerful conglomerate which abuses its monopoly powers. Microsoft is often the recipient of the term.
- The word "shinra" comes from the on-reading of "神羅". This word is usually read shiragi and is the Japanese name of Silla, an ancient Korean kingdom.