The Federal Republic of Sapphire Kawashima is a colossal, safe nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, compulsory vegetarianism, and suspicion of poets. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 7.783 billion Sapphire Kawashimen are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The medium-sized, well-organized government juggles the competing demands of Defense, Education, and Law & Order. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 23.6%.

The strong Sapphire Kawashiman economy, worth 405 trillion rand a year, is fairly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with significant contributions from Uranium Mining, Gambling, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. Black market activity is notable. State-owned companies are common. Average income is 52,102 rand, but there is a significant disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 155,434 per year while the poor average 13,673, a ratio of 11.4 to 1.

Birth rates have hit an all-time low, those who don't have a bean to spend don't know a bean about Brasilistanian coffee beans, shady doctors seem to have impeccable records, and student athletes gaze forlornly at abandoned storkball fields. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Sapphire Kawashima's national animal is the stork, which can occasionally be seen dodging aircraft in the nation's cities.

Sapphire Kawashima is ranked 104,600^th in the world and 1,622^nd in Artificial Solar System for Largest Automobile Manufacturing Sector, scoring 2,227.74 on the Henry Ford Productivity Index.