Each of Japan’s nuclear plants has its own mascot character. Up until the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan even had an amusement park called Atom World, featuring mascots like Plutonium Kun and Denko Chan, aimed at explaining why nuclear power is good for us. The use of nuclear energy propaganda began in the U.S. as part of Eisenhower’s 1953 Atoms for Peace program. In order to shift negative attitudes away from the dropping of the atomic bomb, this program helped Japan develop a nuclear power industry, thereby promoting the peaceful use of nuclear technology.

While living in Japan and volunteering in the disaster zone left by the 2011 tsunami,  I created a fictional nuclear mascot and photographed the character with references to nuclear history and current concerns in Japan. In the final image, I purchased a digital billboard ad and screened an image for 15 seconds every hour on June 7th, 2013. This image was shown in Shibuya Crossing, the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world with over one-million people crossing a day. This public art intervention replaced 6 minutes of commercial advertising with an image of the character, raising questions about the role of media and propaganda in man-made disasters.