Shojin

Shojin, officially the Kingdom of Shojin (大繩仁國), is an island country in Escar, located in the Sea of Yashima. Shojin occupies the 114-island Eso archipelago, which is part of the wider Yashiman archipelago. It has naval borders to the north and west with Yamatai, to the south with Yeongseon, to the south-east with Liang Qieli, and to the east with Chanha.

According to the current Shojinese constitution, promulgated in 1944, the country pursues a policy of armed neutrality. Nonetheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. Shojin is not an official member of any international organizations, but it is an unofficial member of the Wanshu Development Summit through bilateral treaties, and is also an observer of the Ordic League.

Government and politics
Shojin is a  with a  system of government.

The Constitution of Shojin, introduced in 1944, defines the role of the monarch as the, the protector of the constitutional order, the representative of the people, and the highest level of the executive. In practice, the King of Shojin is primarily a religious and constitutional figurehead, with almost all his authority legally entrusted to the Sanshikan (三司官, "Council of Three"), a non-partisan, which exercises many of the key constitutional roles of the King on his behalf. The Sanshikan gives sanction to laws, issues emergency edicts, promulgates and dissolves the legislature and issues pardons, among other powers. The Sanshikan also appoints the Sessei (摂政) (the de-facto ) with the approval of the Grand Council, the national legislature.

The members of the Sanshikan are elected every 3 years in two (rarely three) round elections. Although candidates are often sponsored by political parties, the Sanshikan is a de-jure nonpartisan body, and members may often find themselves at conflict with party allies as the council decides on all policy unanimously. Requirements for potential candidates to the Sanshikan are extremely stringent, to the degree it is common for only a few thousand individuals to have the appropriate qualifications at any one time. Candidates must be at least 45 years old, have held office for at least 5 years in a number of specific public service roles, and must hold the highest level of civil service degree, or a masters-equivalent civilian degree.

The Grand Council is the 170-seat unicameral legislature of Shojin. Each one of Shojin's 35 provinces are entitled to send two representatives, who are elected by province wide ranked ballots, in which the top two candidates are selected. In addition to the 70 provincial delegates, the remaining 100 seats are allocated via national-list. General elections to the Grand Council take place every 3 years, concurrently with elections to the Sanshikan.

Military
The Shojin Defence Forces, which comprise about 122,701 active and 583,068 reserve personnel as of 2020, are composed primarily of conscripts, male citizens aged from 20 to 35 (up to 50 in some circumstances) years of age. The structure of the Shojinese conscription system stipulates that the soldiers keep their Defence Forces issued equipment, including all personal weapons, at home (until 2004 this also included ammunition), or in an armoury. Women are allowed to serve as volunteers, and may be conscripted in event of war. Males usually receive initial orders at the age of 18 for military conscription eligibility screening. About two-thirds of young men are found suitable for service, while alternative service exists for and those found unsuitable.

The policy of armed neutrality remains relatively popular in Shojin, with two failed referendums proposing the abolition of conscription in 1998 and 2017 and the continued reelection of pro-military parties confirming continued public support.

Being an island country, the majority of the SDFs resources are concentrated in the Naval Defence Force and Air Defence Force, with the much smaller ground component, known as the Mobile Defence Force being specialised for marine landing and island garrison operations. The Royal Guard forms the fourth branch of the Defence Forces, and combines the functions of a, and.

The Shojin Defence Forces have various international suppliers such Chisei, Yamatai and Liang, and they are also supplied heavily by other neutral nations such as Gyunghwa and Anglia. The state-owned Shojin Armaments Corporation is the sole domestic supplier of the defence forces.

Because of scarcity of open land in Shojin, training involving activities such as live firing and amphibious warfare are often carried out on the smaller islands, which are typically barred to civilian access. Due to their strict neutrality policy, the Shojinese military does not participate in any joint training with foreign powers, but does regularly send observers to watch foreign training exercises.

Foreign Policy
Shojin has traditionally maintained a policy of neutrality in international affairs, dating back to the 13th century. Its neutrality was recognised by the Escaric in 1857, but it would later be broken in 1937 during the Second Escar-Varunan War when, in fear of a Yamataian invasion, the government of Giwan Seichin signed the Niihama Pact with Yamatai and the Kingdom of Kuiju against Chisei. In 1944, following the defeat and expulsion of Yamataian troops from the islands by the Escaric Allies, Shojin adopted a new constitution which legally enshrined the principle of neutrality and strictly forbade future governments from entering foreign alliances or hosting foreign troops. The Kingdom's neutrality was accepted by the allied powers, and reaffirmed in the Treaty of Eito.

Shojin is not part of any international alliances or blocs, though it is included in the Wanshu Development Summit via bilateral treaties, and is a member of the global Non-Aligned Movement. Many Escaric international organisations have their seats in Shojin, in part because of its policy of neutrality, and the country is host to a number of Ordic League institutions despite only being an within the organisation and having rejected multiple invitations to join.

Shojin maintains diplomatic relations with almost all countries and has served as an intermediary between states.