[ Vision Statement ] Democratic People's Republic of Hangoku

[Mikochi]

Geography

Hangoku is a series of islands, within the tropics (Hopefully near the other Japonic countries!).

Its largest city and capital is Umikyo, meaning “Sea Capital”.

History

(Will aim to kinda align my pre-modern history with the other Japonic nations)

Hangoku was a principality for much of its early-modern history. Hangoku industrialized much later than the rest of the wurld, focusing primarily on its agricultural exports. In the early-mid 20th century, Prince Teruya of Hangoku had a vision to industrialize Hangoku, and set out on a mission to turn the country into what he saw as perfect. The economy quickly boomed, but at the cost of civil liberties, and freedom, and a short, but decisive civil war in the late 19th century saw the removal of Prince Teruya faction from power. Since then, Hangoku has placed its people at the forefront of the nation, using elements of communism, direct democracy, and worker cooperatives to reform the nation. 

One of the major changes Hangoku saw was the dissolution of the Armed forces, with the establishment of regional national guards serving as the nation’s only form of defence. Except for the limited number of combat vessels in Hangoku’s coast guard.

Hangoku Today: Struggles and Positives

Today, the country still struggles with the scars from the rule of Prince Teruya, with many still feeling distrust towards the government. The industrialization under Prince XXX has also led to wealth disparity across the nation, with visible differences in standards of living. The nation’s transition from a principality to a democratic republic has not been smooth, and the nation is still dealing with many issues as it tries to achieve communism.

Despite this, Hangoku’s emphasis on its people has fostered a strong social cohesion between its citizens. Whilst unpolished and not yet perfect, Hangoku’s journey towards communism has improved the lives of millions across the country in the last few decades.

However, the increased affordability of living has led to a small population boom, with the percentage of children in the country being much higher than it ever has before. The government is struggling to provide ample living space for large families within the nation's limited size.

Ethnicity and Culture

Hangoku is basically Japanese, in terms of appearance and dialect. I don’t want to decide too much about this until I’ve had further collaboration with those in the Japonic Sphere.

One thing I’ll say though is that I want to have a big festival society, and I’d like to work in a Shinto or Mahayana styled religion too.

Governance
Regions: Hangoku is split into regions. Each of these regions has its own assembly, and provides regional services such as: Regional Guard, Fire & Rescue, Education Board, Health Board, Transport Board, Infrastructure Board and Parks & Recreation Board.

Federal Assembly (Lower House):  The Federal Assembly allows for debates and discussions on matters of national importance.

Federal Senate? (Upper House): The Federal Senate reviews & revises legislation passed by the Federal Assembly and votes on matters concerning the Federal Ministries, including deciding on who to appoint to lead the Federal Ministries.

Federal Ministries: Government organisations that oversee and set standards for Regional services, and/or run federal agencies, such as the Coast Guard.

Federal Premier: At the beginning of each 5-year long term, the Federal Senate will vote for one of the members of the Senate to be the Federal Speaker who then becomes functionally the head of state. The Federal Speaker’s role is to preside over the Federal Senate, participate in ceremonial functions as the Head of State in international relations, set the direction of the nation and uphold the integrity of the legislative process.

Economy

Although it has moved away from agriculture in the last several decades, Hangoku still exports a lot of tropical plantation goods. Recently, Hangoku has started to capitalize on Tourism, IT Services and Entertainment.

Stats

• Population: 1 (23.8 million)
• GDP: 3 (27,891 GDP/C)
• Land Area: 0 (Currently eyeing up the islands in the Lotus sea that come to around 40,000km2 ish according to the google Eurth method)