A Japanese fishing vessel is making it's way though a fierce storm when a monster seems to be spotted. The remains of the vessel are found by reporter Goro Maki, who finds a lone survivor named Hiroshi Okumura. As Okumura recuperates, he meets with Goro and Dr. Hayashida and tells them that the creature he witness was none other than a resurrected Godzilla. Horrified by the news, it is nevertheless suppressed by the Japanese government to prevent a panic as political tensions increase between the United States and the Soviet Union. However, when Godzilla destroys a Soviet submarine, tensions only escalate as both nuclear superpowers are willing to bomb Japan to stop the monster.