Akitsu

The Empire of Akitsu (Akitian: 秋津帝国), more commonly known as Akitsu (Akitian: 秋津), is an nation located in East Ostara. It doesn't border any nation, as it is an island nation, but geographically [[Tieguo] is located to its west and Singan to its south. The characters that make up Akitsu's name mean "autumn harbor", and subsequently that is why Akitsu is sometimes called the "Harbor of Autumn".

Akitsu is made up of many islands, three of which makes up the vast majority of Akitsu's land area. The largest islands in Akitsu is Akishima, which is also home to Akitsu's capital of Kobara.

Etymology

The name "Akitsu" derives from a story regarding the nations founding. According to traditional Akitian mythology, the first Akitian settlers arrived in Akitsu in autumn. Because of this, the people living in Akitsu began referring to the islands as the "Harbor of Autumn", and eventually the characters meaning just that (秋津) were adopted as the nations name. The full title of the nation, the Empire of Akitsu, is Akitsu Teikoku (秋津帝国), meaning "Empire of Akitsu". The Akitian people refer to themselves as Akitsu-jin (秋津人) and to their language Akitsu-go (秋津語).

Politics and Government

Akitsu is a constitutional monarchy and the powers of the Emperor are very limited. However, the Emperor still retains influence within the government. That said, power is chiefly held by the Prime Minister and the State Committee. Both the Prime Minister and State Committee are elected by the people of Akitsu. The current royal family is descended from the Kobayakawa clan which formed the Empire of Akitsu in 1658. The current Emperor of Akitsu is Kaito Kobayakawa and the heir to the throne is Kuroo Kobayakawa.

Akitsu's legislative body is the State Committee which is made up of 200 seats elected by popular votes when dissolved every 5 years. The State Committee is unicameral, meaning it only has one chamber. All adults above the age of 20 have universal suffrage, with a secret ballot for all elected offices. There are minor parties in Akitsu, but the three main parties are the Liberal Democratic Party, Nationalist Party, and the Democratic Party.

Political Parties

In the early 14th century, Akitian politics were dominated by the Nationalist Party, a centre-right political party that ran it's campaigns on maintaining complete political neutrality and isolation while maintaining a strong military force in order to preserve Akitian independence. The Nationalist Party's influence on politics was considerable, and for a long time it was the only political party with control of the government. However, in the 1440's some members of the Nationalist Party grew disillusioned with the Nationalist Party. In 1452 these members broke away to form the Democratic Party, a centrist political party. However, until the 1510's Akitsu is generally agreed to have been a one party dominant state. In the 1514, the Emperor of Akitsu demanded a series of reforms, resulting in the Kobara Convention and the subsequent adoption of an entirely new constitution. This constitutional convention ended in, among other things, massive electoral reform allowing minor parties to flourish. Subsequently, the Democratic Party became the main opposition party, with Akitsu becoming a two-party state.

The Liberal Democratic Party is the second-largest political party in Akitsu. It is a centre-left party, grounded in liberal and progressive values. Founded in 1510, the party initially didn't get many votes. However, they quickly became a big player in Akitian politics, being the first party to advocate for Akitsu to come out of it's political isolation. In the 1549 Akitian general election, they surpassed the Democratic Party as the main opposition party. In the 1564 Akitian general election, they attained their first majority in the State Committee, albiet a slim one (majority by only 1 seat).

LGBT Rights

Akitsu is probably amongst the most tolerant nations in terms of LGBT issues. This is largely believed to stem from a religious belief, which states that homosexuality is not a sin nor is it unnatural. It is known that during and before the 1260's homophobia, some say to an excessive level, was a norm for Akitsu. However, in 1263 religious authorities made the Declaration of the Acceptance of Homosexuality (同性愛受入宣言), which formally declared homosexuality to not be unnatural. Before this, homosexuality was considered to be unnatural and disruptive to nature. This change was initially very controversial, but over the span of many years Akitian society grew tolerant of homosexual relationships.

Administrative Divisions

Akitsu consists of 18 Provinces (県, ken), each overseen by an elected legilature (known as a Provincial Assembly), Governor, and administrative bureaucracy. Each province is further divided into cities (市, shi), towns (町, cho or machi), and villages (村, mura). Cities that are large enough can be further subdivided into districts (区, ku).

Demographics

Population

Akitsu is a largely ethnically homogenous nation, with a population of 33,214,135. 94% of those people are ethnically Akitian. Ethnic minority groups include 2% Kazemuran, 2% Tieguoese, 1% Singanese, and 1% other groups.

Religion

Akitsu has a relationship with religion that is unique. For all intents and purposes, Akitsu is a irreligious nation. In the past three decades, around 83% of the population has consistently identified themselves as irreligious. However, this does not mean that Akitians don't partake in religious rituals. Akitians do partake in rituals, such as the rituals of Reido (Akitsu's native religion), but these are seen as cultural practices rather than religious practices. As such, Akitians don't see themselves as taking part in a religious activity when doing these rituals, instead they see it as a part of Akitian life.