The Empire Republic of Alski is a colossal, genial nation, ruled by Ito Alski with an even hand, and remarkable for its infamous sell-swords, national health service, and keen interest in outer space. The compassionate, cheerful, devout population of 7.958 billion Alskians are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

The enormous, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Education, Administration, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Sapporo. The average income tax rate is 98.5%.

The frighteningly efficient Alskian economy, worth a remarkable 1,341 trillion Baslas a year, is highly specialized and dominated by the Information Technology industry, with significant contributions from Book Publishing, Tourism, and Basket Weaving. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 168,560 Baslas, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Couples kissing on the street are detained for 'unlawful exchange of genetic material', people make a career out of medical voyeurism, intellectual snobbery has the cognoscenti sneering at anyone who doesn't have an opinion on the semiological drift of Umberto Eco's works, and criminals and college students are taking an interest in the government's new weed-killing program. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Alski's national animal is the Alska dog, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Kitsunism.

Alski is ranked 2,173^rd in the world and 40^th in 10000 Islands for Highest Food Quality, scoring 273.19 on the Meeshlin-Starr Index.