I don't know about that, but they exist here in Norway too. They where brought in to the country in the 70's or something. My uncle's family have a shiba, and she's the coolest dog I know of ;D

Beautiful pics, mate :3 I'd love to live in a place like that.

Wow.. that is gorgeous. I'm absolutely jealous of you Sangetsu! What region are you in?

actually there are atleast 12 different bred from Japan : Akita, Chin, Great Japanese Dog (half USA), Hokkaido, Kai, Kishu, Nihon Supittsu, Nihon Teria, Shiba, Shikoku, Thai ridgeback Dog (Half Thai) and Tosa.
But it is Shiba!!!
(I have Pekingese- bred from China)

I think the name of the breed is just 'Shiba' without the inu, because since inu means dog, it would be like saying... husky dog. I think its just something english speakers added on to make it sound cool. Teehee!
And I know of a couple shiba rescue groups in America, so I think they are also bred elsewhere. "*"THINK ADOPTION FIRST! :) *"*

Also, those pictures are amazing!! Beautiful lighting! Teehee! I would die before getting to the top of all those steps! Japan is sooooo beautiful!

The proper name in the UK is "Japanese Shiba Inu" the name in the US is "Shiba Inu". In Japan they are called Shiba Inu or Shiba-ken.

I have two shiba inu. My oldest one is 13 years old now, my youngest is six. I live in the UK. There are many breeders here. I am an American but moved to the UK 10 years ago. I brought my oldest shiba over here with me. There are lots of breeders in the USA, and there are many breeders all over the world. The shiba is a very popular breed since they are small and are very clever.

Photos here: Shiba - a set on Flickr