The Empire of Northern 12 is a colossal, safe nation, remarkable for its barren, inhospitable landscape, state-planned economy, and compulsory gun ownership. The quiet, industrious population of 9.733 billion Northern 12ians 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 juggles the competing demands of Defense, Law & Order, and Education. The average income tax rate is 30.8%.

The Northern 12ian economy, worth 367 trillion Yen a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a slick, highly efficient, quite specialized black market in Uranium Mining, Arms Manufacturing, Woodchip Exports, and Information Technology. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is 37,735 Yen, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 3.2 times as much as the poorest.

Pretty hair and tight shorts are considered to be essentials for successful political lobbyists, nervous homeowners have been blamed for rising death rates amongst carol singers and locksmiths, a traveller who once stubbed a toe on an Air Brancaland flight has been offered asylum, and collisions between bicycles and carnival floats are on the rise. Crime, especially youth-related, is almost non-existent, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Northern 12's national animal is the Giraffe, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Northern 12 is ranked 252,742^nd in the world and 1^st in 0527 Flying steamer for Most Beautiful Environments, with 213.5 pounds of wildlife per square mile.