The Empire of Shingento is a large, genial nation, remarkable for its public floggings and compulsory military service. The hard-working, devout population of 100 million Gensonese have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The medium-sized government prioritizes Education, with Spirituality, Law & Order, and Defense also on the agenda. The average income tax rate is 20.8%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The strong Gensonese economy, worth 6.74 trillion kins a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Book Publishing industry, with major contributions from Trout Farming, Tourism, and Beef-Based Agriculture. Average income is 67,448 kins, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.3 times as much as the poorest.

Surprising numbers of poor people are protesting against taxing the rich, banana distribution among collective farm workers is an important topic in public discourse, some are born loving old plays and some have old plays thrust upon them, and passionate nomination battles are often as intense as general elections. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shingento's national animal is the Gensonese Red Panda, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests.

Shingento is ranked 109,500^th in the world and 206^th in Horizon for Most Scientifically Advanced, scoring 90.39 on the Kurzweil Singularity Index.