Shinra Electric Power Company The Shinra Electric Power Company , also known as Shinra Inc . and sometimes spelled Shin - Ra , is a company in the world of " Final Fantasy VII " . It is primarily a power company , supplying Mako energy and making electricity efficient and easily available . Its mass reach sees its presence as a megacorporation with significant underhanded influence into societal , infrastructural , and political spheres . Shinra also operates in genetic engineering , space exploration , and projects its power through a military that includes the elite group SOLDIER . Their military power , combined with their commercial monopoly on Mako energy , gives Shinra a measure of control over the world populace . Nearly every central character in the " Compilation of Final Fantasy VII " has been negatively affected by Shinra ' s tyrannical rule , even many who work under its banner . The main characters of " Before Crisis - Final Fantasy VII - " and " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " work for the company . Story . Shinra started as a weapons manufacturer known as the Shinra Manufacturing Works . Upon discovering how to refine Lifestream , the Planet ' s life energy , into Mako energy as an energy source , they exploded in power and set up Mako Reactor s all around the globe . With its ever - increasing finances Shinra expanded into many areas , including space exploration . As people became dependent on Shinra ' s energy and commodities , President Shinra , the owner of the company , became an autocrat . Starting a private army , using Mako energy to power the elite SOLDIER class and funding an undercover corps called the Turks , Shinra ruled with an iron fist and began performing human experiments to create supersoldiers . When the people of Wutai disagreed with setting up Mako Reactors to their land Shinra started the Wutai War , which lasted for nine years and ends with Shinra capturing Fort Tamblin , forcing the Wutai leader , Godo Kisaragi , to surrender . Soon after a rogue SOLDIER member Genesis Rhapsodos starts his campaign against Shinra , attacking many of its key locations , but the war is eventually quelled . It takes further six years to defeat the subsequent AVALANCHE Insurgency , but eventually Shinra wins that war as well . Shinra constructed the metropolis of Midgar , which houses the Shinra Headquarters and eight large Mako Reactors . Shinra controls the city and the lives of its citizens , although the company introduced a figure - head mayor , Domino . It obtained control of much of the world ' s information and broadcasting services , and created a propaganda news service called the " Shinra News " . The main purpose of the propaganda machine is to declare those considered disloyal to Shinra dead and to distort events to Shinra ' s favor . In protest to Shinra ' s lies , an anti - Shinra news service called " Shinra Truths " appeared . Both can be viewed as emails in " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . Shinra pursues the Promised Land , a fertile land from Cetra legends , which Shinra believes to be a land full of Mako energy where they could relocate their center of operations in a project named Neo Midgar . Shinra goes through great lengths to create a person with Cetra ' s power who could lead them to the Promised Land , but in the end , Neo Midgar is never built . Dissent had long been felt among the people under Shinra ' s rule . As the Mako Reactors destroy wildlife and outcast villages , people begin to despise their work . Many research Mako and realize Shinra is ripping life out of the Planet . Some Shinra employees desert as they discover the truths of the company , such as First Class SOLDIERs Zack Fair , Genesis Rhapsodos , Sephiroth , and Angeal Hewley . One of SOLDIER ' s strongest units , 13th Unit Ragnarok , was reviled upon the discovery of Deepground and its purposes , before the company was silenced by the program ' s elite subjects , the Restrictors . Anti - Shinra groups , such as the eco - terrorist group AVALANCHE , and the Wutai Crescent Unit , spring up to combat the army . Even the Turks mutiny over their leader ' s unfair treatment and the human rights abuses the company regularly performs , causing a major fallout of many members . President Shinra is killed when Sephiroth enacts his plan to summon Meteor to harm the Planet , and takes over Jenova ' s remains — an extraterrestrial creature once thought to be the body of a Cetra — stored in the Shinra Headquarters , morphing her body into his image and slaying the President in his office . Vice President Rufus Shinra takes over and hunts Sephiroth down to North Crater , a site of immense Mako energy the company believes to be the Promised Land they have been looking for . Their dreams are cut short as Sephiroth summons Meteor and the Weapons , the Planet ' s defense mechanism , are awakened and attack Shinra ' s sites of power . Shinra fails to destroy the Meteor with the Shinra No . 26 rocket and in an attempt to destroy the energy barrier created by Sephiroth at North Crater , Shinra fires the Sister Ray , a powerful Mako cannon , destroying Diamond Weapon that fires a salvo of energy , damaging the Shinra Building . President Rufus Shinra , thought to have been killed in the explosion at the Shinra Building , survives after a rescue and evacuation process by Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi . With the leader of Shinra thought dead , the other Shinra executives go rogue . Reeve Tuesti , the head of Urban Development , is stripped of his title and imprisoned by Heidegger and Scarlet , the leaders of the Turks and Shinra army and Shinra ' s weapons development , who are soon killed . The " Great Sephiroth Plan " , a planned military operation that would see the entire Shinra army dispatched to North Crater to fight Sephiroth once the barrier is destroyed , is cancelled as the company descends into chaos . Professor Hojo , the head of Shinra ' s science department , is killed when he tries to use the Sister Ray to help Sephiroth . The final remaining Turks abandon their mission to hunt down AVALANCHE and help evacuate Midgar instead . As the Meteor falls on the city it rips it apart . When the Lifestream ejects from the Planet to stop the Meteor , the people realize how important the Lifestream is , and Shinra can no longer use it popularly as an energy supply . In a conversation between the Turks Reno and Rude in Healen Lodge in " Advent Children Complete " , it is revealed some Shinra employees remain dedicated to the company , and return to the its remnants to help atone for their past sins . Whether this refers only to the Turks or other employees as well is unknown . Hierarchy . Shinra is led by President Shinra ( who is later replaced by his son Rufus Shinra ) and its multi - affairs are divided into several departments : Weapons Development Department . Led by Scarlet . It develops most of Shinra ' s weapons of war . Some weapons developed by the department include the Sister Ray , the Proud Clod , and the Gelnika . Science Department . Led by Professor Hojo , the Science Department is the main manufacturer of the army ' s Materia . It also conducts secret human experiments , heading the Jenova Project , and Deepground . Other scientists include Professors Gast Faremis , who led the department before Hojo , Hollander , Lucrecia Crescent , and the late Grimoire Valentine . Shinra has been involved in many immoral human and animal experiments during the course of its existence . It was directly involved in the creation of monsters for military use , which led to the increase of monsters roaming the Planet . They experimented on the effects of Mako energy on human subjects ; in small doses , it leads to enhanced warriors called SOLDIER , but prolonged exposure creates Makonoid s . Professors Hojo and Hollander competed in the Jenova Project in creating a human with Cetra ' s powers and Hojo performed shape - shifting experiments on Vincent Valentine , a former Turk . After the Nibelheim Incident , Hojo injected the Nibelheim survivors with Jenova cells and Mako to test his Jenova Reunion Theory . The results of this experiment were the Sephiroth Clone s . The Deepground underground medical facility slowly transformed into an experimental soldier site after Genesis ' s birth . In this madhouse experimentation went on without the interference of morality and produced such monstrosities as Azul the Cerulean , Rosso the Crimson , Shelke the Transparent , Nero the Sable , and Weiss the Immaculate . Hojo experimented on Red XIII , planning to cross - breed his species with the Cetra to increase their life - span for study . Urban Development Department . Led by Reeve Tuesti who designed the city of Midgar , the Urban Development Department runs the city ' s day - to - day affairs . Space Exploration Department . Headed up by Palmer , the Space Exploration Department plans on using rockets to launch men into space , their first being the ever - willing Cid Highwind . After the failed launch of Shinra No . 26 , funding for the department was pulled , but it remains a part of Shinra . Public Safety Maintenance Department . Led by Heidegger , this is the Shinra army and police force . Charged with the responsibility over Shinra ' s armed forces , this department consists of a few different sub - branches : The Investigative Division of General Affairs . Also known as the Turks , this department was first headed by Veld . Officially the Turks ' purpose is to seek out potential SOLDIER recruits , but in reality they are skilled special agents used for gathering intelligence , providing additional security , and protecting the company ' s secrets . Membership is exclusive , having just over ten members towards the end of the conflict with the original AVALANCHE . As a result of various factors , such as the Veld ' s desertion , the Turks go rogue and several members desert Shinra at the end of the conflict with AVALANCHE . Thus the Turks ' numbers dwindle down to three members who are kept on a tight leash by Heidegger . Tseng takes over leadership and after Reno is injured , Shinra allows for an additional member to join , Elena . SOLDIER . First led by Lazard Deusericus , this department deals with Shinra ' s elite branch of warriors , SOLDIER , and their battle strategies . After a rash of defections and betrayals Heidegger assumes control over SOLDIER . SOLDIER operatives are divided into three classes , depending upon skill and success in the field . Security Department . No explicit details are given on this Shinra department , which is in charge of Shinra ' s non - Mako infused infantrymen . Although not having as much of a reputation as SOLDIER , the Security Department ' s infantry make up the majority of Shinra ' s military force , and is deployed far more often than SOLDIER . This department has a rivalry with SOLDIER and extends challenges in the form of training sessions . The Security Department serves as a fallback for SOLDIER hopefuls deemed unfit to go through the Mako infusion procedure that SOLDIER members are required to pass . The leader of this department has not been identified , although it may simply be run by Heidegger . The Roboguard . While only referenced occasionally , the Roboguard consists of Shinra ' s automated combatants , including machines like Sweepers and Guard Scorpion s , as well as more humanoid automatons like the Special Combatants and Mighty Grunts . These machines are often encountered in less - hospitable environments , such as the Lower Plate and Mako Reactors . Development . " Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega " sheds light in what Shinra ' s history was like in the game ' s early drafts . Old Midgar ( before the plate was built ) was intended as the company ' s capital , where Shinra would have developed and constructed weapons , monopolizing the defense industry . The " Ultimania " states that Shinra would have profited from a long - lasting war with an unnamed nation where they secretly exported weapons to the enemy country as well . The traces of the secret trade were meant to be visible in various towns and cities , and characters such as Barret Wallace would have noticed . Further , the " Ultimania " tells that at the start of the previously mentioned war , the company would have already begun using Mako energy , and towards the end of the war , Shinra would have created the SOLDIER . Due to SOLDIER , the country on Shinra ' s side would have won the war and afterward , due to the company ' s monopoly on Mako energy , Shinra would have gained economic control of said country . Musical themes . The theme most commonly associated with Shinra in " Final Fantasy VII " is titled " Shinra Company " , a slow piece featuring ominous piano ( and , later , choir and digital effects ) against a sinister , heavy beat . This track may have inspired " Immoral Melody " from " Final Fantasy IX " , as the two share strikingly similar beats . A slightly more upbeat remix , called " Mako Monopoly " , plays in " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . The " Shinra Company " melody is also heard in " Infiltrating Shinra " that plays in Shinra Headquarters ; " Shinra ' s Full - Scale Assault " that plays during the scene where Barret shows Tifa the Meteor , and when Cloud is going through various obstacles when trying to reach the upper plate to get to Shinra Headquarters ; and also during " Mako Cannon - The Destruction of Shinra " that plays during the scene when Sister Ray destroys the barrier around North Crater . Merchandise . Various Shinra merchandise have been released by Square . Other appearances . " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . The Shinra Electric Power Company is mentioned in the daily Mognet . The mail is sent by DJ Mog , and the player may receive it anytime soon after a few days of playing . Etymology . This refers to the Shinra Company ' s status as global superpower , monopolizing industry and governing most of the Planet .