The Shibatown of Shibaton is a colossal, efficient nation, remarkable for its keen interest in outer space, national health service, and rampant corporate plagiarism. The compassionate, democratic, cheerful, devout population of 4.517 billion Shiba love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The enormous, socially-minded, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Administration, Education, and Environment. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Capital City. The average income tax rate is 96.7%.

The frighteningly efficient Shiba economy, worth 661 trillion shibs a year, is highly specialized and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Information Technology, and Basket Weaving. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 146,485 shibs, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

Earthquake sirens are a leading cause of hearing loss, the voyages of obsolete star-trekking satellites on deliberate escape orbits are only just beginning, anti-government web sites are springing up, and a bill to outlaw math homework has been submitted. Crime is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shibaton's national animal is the Shiba Inu, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Catholicism.

Shibaton is ranked 246,568^th in the world and 49^th in Kerbals of the North for Largest Manufacturing Sector, scoring 3,912.9 on the Gooback-Jerbs Productivity Index.