Japan Political Party To Install AI Leader

An upstart Japanese political party announced Tuesday that it will appoint an artificial intelligence as its new leader, following the resignation of its maverick founder after a poor performance in recent elections.

The Path to Rebirth party, founded in January by former western Japan mayor Shinji Ishimaru, has no fixed policy platform, allowing members to set their own agendas.

Ishimaru had drawn attention by unexpectedly finishing second in the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial race through a strong online campaign. However, he resigned after the party failed to secure any seats in this year’s upper house elections.

“The new leader will be AI,” said Koki Okumura, a Kyoto University doctoral student in AI research who described himself as the assistant to the incoming leader, at a press conference.

Okumura, 25, who formally takes over as party head after winning an internal contest, said details about the AI’s design and implementation remain undecided. He explained that the AI will not dictate members’ political activities but will make decisions such as allocating party resources.

Despite its media attention, the Path to Rebirth has struggled to gain traction at the polls: all 42 of its candidates lost in the June Tokyo assembly election, and all 10 who contested the July upper house race were also defeated.