An emerging Japanese political party announced on Tuesday that it will appoint an artificial intelligence as its leader following the resignation of its founder, Shinji Ishimaru, after a disappointing performance in recent elections.

The Path to Rebirth party, launched in January by a former mayor of a small city in western Japan Ishimaru, lacks a formal policy platform, allowing its members to pursue individual agendas.

Ishimaru garnered unexpected support during the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election through a successful online campaign, finishing second. However, he stepped down after the party failed to secure any seats in this year’s upper house elections.

“The new leader will be AI”, said a doctoral student in AI research Koki Okumura, who described himself as an assistant to the AI leader, during a news conference.

He will serve as the nominal leader of the party, although specifics about the AI’s implementation are still under discussion.

According to Okumura, the AI will not dictate political activities but will help make decisions regarding resource distribution among party members. Okumura recently won a party contest to succeed Ishimaru.

Despite, attracting media attention, the Path to Rebirth has struggled in elections, with all 42 candidates losing in the June Tokyo assembly election and all 10 candidates who ran in the upper House election in July also failing to secure seats.