Policy

Description

Government

Instant-Runoff Voting

On ballots, voters rank the candidates of their choice, rather than choose only one.

Public Protest

The right to public protest is considered essential.

Term Limits

Elected representatives must leave office after a legally mandated amount of time. Parliamentary representatives may not serve for more than eighteen years, and councilors may not serve more than eight.

Society

Default Organ Harvesting

Citizens must opt-out of organ donation after death, rather than opt-in.

Drug Decriminalization

Illegal substance abuse is not penalized with jail time, and individuals are instead assigned therapy and medical care.

Gender Change

Residents may legally change their designated gender, and gender reassignment surgery is legal.

Marriage Equality

Citizens of the same sex may marry.

No Prostitution

Buying and selling sexual activity is illegal. Sex work itself is decriminalized, though; judicial penalties are only applied to traders and traffickers.

Polygamy

Citizens may have multiple spouses.

Public Education

The state provides free schooling to all children from kindergarten through high school. Community colleges are also available with reduced or free tuitions.

Reproductive Health

Access to contraceptives is included in Baizou's universal healthcare. Abortion is legal and also covered by universal healthcare in the case of health complications for either the child or mother and in the case of rape, and the standard of proof is mandated by law to be low and accessible.

Sex Education

School-age children receive mandatory sex education.

Law & Order

Bench Trials

Cases are decided by judges, not juries.

Gun Control

Citizens are forbidden from owning firearms.

Public Defenders

All citizens are entitled to defense counsel.

Economy

Affirmative Action

Organizations are required to meet demographic quotas.

Metricism

The state mandates the use of the metric system.

Minimum Wage

The nation's minimum wage that rises with inflation.

Mixed Economy

Key industries—such as healthcare, the Internet, and education—are nationalized, and the state retains the right to nationalize individual corporations for egregious violations of labor laws and anti-monopoly statutes.

No Gambling

Gambling is illegal.

Parental Leave

Parents receive paid leave from employment for childbirth and postnatal childcare.

Universal Health Care

The state provides health care to all citizens.

International

Climate Treaty

The nation is a signatory to an international climate treaty: the Kyoto Protocol.

No WMDs

The nation opposes the use of WMDs.

Stats

Icon

Description

Authoritarianism

Baizoans consider themselves very free, and the nation's laws mostly generally bear that out. However, Baizoans willingly identify as "free within limits," and they are not usually surprised if the nation-state breaks up a monopoly or prosecutes hate speech. Additionally, the sovereign throne's retention of governing powers—albeit limited ones—bring Baizou to a low percentile for this statistic, but not the very bottom.

Average Dispensable Income

After taxes, the average Baizoan makes about 34,000 Baizoan pounds annually. The vast majority of Baizoans report being able to pay their expenses, save money, and have some leftover to participate in the consumer economy.

Average Income

Before taxes, the average Baizoan income is 51,000 pounds. This is considered very good for a small power such as Baizou.

Averageness

Baizoans, especially politically active ones, like to think they're ahead of the curve on cassette innovation, anti-racism, gender equality, religious liberty, war responsibility, and more. With that and the continued popularity of city pop and other eighties' aesthetics, Baizou is self-consciously different from average—though not drastically so.

Black Market

Extant, but small. Some hawks in the Wakuna Restoration bloc think it could be smaller with stronger police intervention, but so far Baizou has preferred to tolerate what's there than escalate enforcement.

Business Subsidization

As one of the "Five Asian Tigers," Baizou credits its twentieth-century economic success at least in part to a mixed economy that is partially guided by state investment into renewable energy and accessible healthcare.

Charmlessness

Very low, thanks to an environmentally conscious public. Baizou is a beautiful place, and you should visit!

Cheerfulness

Baizoans are in the world's top 15% for cheerfulness! With robust and reliable societal mechanisms, a culture with a rich heritage, and access to the latest in technology, there's plenty to be happy about.

Civil Rights

Baizoan parties and people are willing to jostle a little for strong civil rights, and constitutional protections run the gamut from speech and belief to water and life.

Compassion

Our citizens are considered to be among the top 10% in the world for compassion! Empathy is a cultural, spiritual, and civic virtue in Baizou.

Compliance

This also measures pretty highly. Baizou's law enforcement presence isn't anything unusual, but for the most part citizens don't have much cause to commit crimes.

Corruption

Bureaucracy is an almost-sacred trust in Baizou—the notion that anyone in government would take a bribe is nigh upon unheard of, and it's an instant scandal when it does happen.

Crime

Virtually unknown, and this in large part thanks to effective education, welfare, and rehabilitation policies.

Culture

Baizoans prefer to hang out at tea shops or public parks, but we are still known to wax poetic and make meaningful cultural production.

Death Rate

Most Baizoans die of old age, rather than any preventable accident or curable disease. In some ways, this has caused concerns as the population is aging slightly—but for now, births continue to keep the population young enough so Baizoans can care for their own, both young and old.

Defense Force

The military is modest at best, and without a king or colonial empire to answer to, Baizou's armed forces are still not 100% sure whether they answer to the War Bureau or the Interregnum Committee for the Military.

Eco-Friendliness

Between recycling, investing in renewable energy, and taking polluters to court, Baizou tries to do its best to keep the environment healthy.

Economic Freedom

Baizou's mixed economy isn't necessarily oppressive, but businesses can expect to be much more closely scrutinized here than they might be in nations who are more ardently capitalist. Anti-monopoly laws, environmental protections, and constitutionally enshrined labor rights all keep Baizou's rating on this statistic relatively low.

Economic Output

The national GDP stands at a little over 600 billion pounds, comparable to the GDPs of South Korea and Taiwan.

Economy

It's not the economy of a superpower, but it keeps Baizoans prosperous and successful. Baizou dominates in technology exports, having mastered the development and creation of cassette computing videocassette hardware. Domestically, book publishing is a robust industry, thanks to a highly literate and well-read public.

Employment

Here, Baizou's mixed economy has been fairly successful. Only 5% of the population are considered unemployed.

Environmental Beauty

Baizou's island is pretty crowded, it must be admitted, but if you can get out of the city, the lowlands are lush, the ocean beautiful, and the forests a sight to behold.

Foreign Aid

Baizou disperses some foreign aid by making donations and investments into NGOs, but it's relatively modest. We do pay our UN dues, though.

Freedom from Taxation

Every year, Baizoans receive a letter from the Internal Revenue Office to provide a tax estimate and confirm if it's correct. There's no particular sense in trying to hide taxable income in Baizou—the IRO already knows.

Government Size

It's certainly up there. Between the interdependent bureaucracy, nesting dolls of committees, multiple layers of magistries, and combination of both national and local governments, Baizou's government at least qualifies as large. Comfortably large so far, and in a way the majority of Baizoans are happy with, but still noticeable.

Health

Single-payer, universal healthcare and a healthy cultural diet drawn from the land and sea does wonders for the public's general health.

Human Development Index

The HDI rates Baizou at a 0.9, and the IDI rates Baizou at a 70/100. Pretty good!

Ideological Radicality

It's moderately high, but tempered more than you might expect. In a nation where Marxists and Socialists are political rivals but Labor and Lotus Conservatives coalition with each other, there is a curious blend of radicality and compromise.

Ignorance

High-quality, universal education keeps ignorance low in Baizou.

Inclusiveness

Although Baizou may not seem demographically homogenous, the diversity we do enjoy is widely embraced, from the indigenous Po-Usikwa and immigrant ethnicities to Christian congregations and humanist "nones."

Income Equality

The poorest Baizoan's annual earnings are about 70% of the wealthiest Baizoan's.

Industry: Arms Manufacturing

Virtually nonexistent. Weapons used by the military and law enforcement are produced "in-house" by the state, and the only other potential arms buyers are hunters who live in rural communities.

Industry: Automobile Manufacturing

Automotive production is quite modest in Baizou. Most Baizoans don't drive and instead rely on small cities and pervasive public transit. Those Baizoans who do own cars tend to buy Japanese models.

Industry: Basket Weaving

Baskets aren't called upon too often, but there are people who weave in order to produce souvenirs for tourists.

Industry: Beverage Sale

Mugicha, ramune, melon soda, oh my! The trouble for Baizoan industry is that Japan sells everything Baizoans could want to drink.

Industry: Book Publishing

Baizoans are highly literate and are avid readers. Book publishing is one of our leading industries!

Industry: Cheese Export

Like Japan, in Baizou it is difficult to even find cheese in a grocery store, much less an export manifest.

Industry: Furniture Restoration

If it looked good in the Eighties, why wouldn't it also look good now?

Industry: Gambling

Outlawed.

Industry: Information Technology

Cassette technology—including cassette computing, CARRIE, and more—are Baizou's pride and joy. Producers sell technology to Baizoans and to the world!

Industry: Insurance

Accident insurance still exists, but few go for health insurance when Baizou's universal health care is pretty dependable.

Industry: Mining

Middling. Creating cassette technology requires raw resources, but Baizou doesn't do much digging domestically.

Industry: Pizza Delivery

There is one place you can find cheese in Baizou: on a pizza. Unfortunately, that pizza probably costs forty dollars and has to be delivered from the next town over.

Industry: Retail

Baizoans do participate in the consumer economy, but they aren't that passionate about consumption.

Industry: Timber Woodchipping

Anti-deforestation laws have cut into the timber industry, and by corollary the woodchipping industry as well. That's another reason why furniture restoration is prominent!

Industry: Trout Fishing

Baizou lives off the sea as much as the land, and Baizoans enjoy eating all manner of seafood. Trout, salmon, tuna, scallops...

Influence

Another mixed statistic. Baizou is very much a small power, having a modest military and only moderate soft power. Nevertheless, its role as the hub of cassette technology gives it outsize economic importance, allowing it to punch above its weight, so to speak. Overall, though, Baizou is still not one of the leading players in the world.

Integrity

As aforementioned, bureaucracy is an almost-sacred trust in Baizou. Few are the officials who would stoop to accepting a bribe, and fewer still the officials who could get away with it.

Intelligence

Quality education, universal schooling, and powerhouse book publishing each help Baizoans stay sharp.

Law Enforcement

Baizou's law enforcement so far meet most international standards and are trained to de-escalate conflicts and avoid placing creating situations in which they or civilians would be endangered. Nevertheless, occasional episodes of violence are coming into the public consciousness more, and parties like International Peace, New Liberals, and Socialists are bringing new scrutiny to police institutions.

Lifespan

The average Baizoan lives to the ripe old age of eighty-five.

Niceness

In Baizou, compassion and niceness go hand in hand. Kind words and deeds are considered the fruits of good values, both spiritual, moral, and civic.

Nudity

"Prudish" is a strong word, but Baizoans tend to be relatively self-conscious about showing skin... unless you're at a bathhouse or hot spring, of course. It's completely different!

Obesity

Healthy living and healthy diets keep this statistic low for now.

Pacifism

War has really never been kind to Baizou, and today Baizoans are quick to diplomacy and slow to violence. One of the national political factions is even called the International Peace Party.

Political Apathy

In addition to being anxiously engaged in domestic politics, Baizoans arguably know more about foreign politics than some foreigners do.

Political Freedom

Voting, protest, association, and more are considered hallmarks of Baizoan life. The people love a good election, and Baizou gives them plenty.

Population

21 million strong and counting.

Primitiveness

Baizou stands at the cutting edge of VHS! How could that ever be considered primitive?

Public Education

As aforementioned, education is universal and high quality. In addition to free public schooling from yōchien through high school, Baizou's city colleges offer free tuition, and larger research universities have subsidized tuition. There do still exist private schools which some take advantage of for a variety of reasons. Some private schools are boarding academies which offer experiences beyond public education; others are religious schools that allow students to merge pastoral learning with standard education. But these private schools must also meet the national standards of education.

Public Healthcare

Robust, reliable, single-payer, and universal!

Public Transport

Few Baizoans feels a need to drive when trains, trams, buses, ferries, and rental cycles can take you to every corner of every city.

Recreational Drug Use

Middling. Decriminalization means that users are not issued jail time, but they are mandated to receive therapy and medical care to try to end addiction and usage.

Religiousness

With both a Christian plurality and significant minorities of Buddhists and Mahouzouhou adherents, Baizou has a lot of religion to go around.

Rudeness

Baizoans aren't quite as excessively polite as their Japanese cousins, but they do have a unique blend of Japanese and British sensibilities that eschew rudeness.

Safeness

With so little crime, most Baizoans feel they have little to be afraid of.

Scientific Advancement

Baizoans put artificial intelligence on a VHS tape, and things don't get much more advanced than that.

Sector: Agriculture

Sector: Manufacturing

Secularism

Social Conservatism

Taxation

Tourism

Wealth Gap

Weaponization

Weather

Welfare

Youth Rebelliousness