Monday 16 November 2026
12:00pm – 1:15pm (UK) / 9:00pm – 10:15pm (Japan)

AI in Democracy

Online webinar, accessible remotely via Zoom

Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation

Artificial intelligence can offer new opportunities to strengthen democracy and increase citizen participation. According to a 2026 report from the OECD, AI can help governments engage with citizens more effectively, analyse diverse public opinions at scale and strengthen citizens’ voices in policymaking. At the same time, its use raises important questions around governance, transparency, fairness, accountability, risk management and public trust.

In this webinar, Yuya Mineshima, a Member of Japan’s House of Representatives and of the Team Mirai political party, will explore how his party is using AI and digital technology to transform political participation in Japan. Professor Oliver Escobar from the University of Edinburgh will then share the UK perspective on how AI is reshaping democracy and public policy, exploring its potential to strengthen citizen participation and public involvement in policymaking.

About the contributors

Yuya Mineshima

Yuya Mineshima is a Member of the House of Representatives of Japan for Team Mirai. Born in Tokyo in 1990, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo and holds an MBA from London Business School. He began his career at Goldman Sachs, and went on to serve as a board member and CFO of a start-up, and later as an Executive Officer of Money Forward, Inc. and a director of one of its group companies, where he led the digital transformation of corporate back-office operations. In 2025, he joined Team Mirai shortly after its founding. In the 2026 general election, he stood for the Tokyo 7th district (Minato and Shibuya) and was elected for the first time through the Tokyo proportional representation block. He currently serves as Head of Public Relations at Team Mirai, and is a member of the Committee of Financial Affairs and the Special Committee of Political Reform in the House of Representatives.

Professor Oliver Escobar

Professor Oliver Escobar is the Chair of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation at the University of Edinburgh. He works on participatory and deliberative democracy, with a focus on public participation, policy work, the commons, political inequalities and the governance of the future. Oliver combines research and practice to develop social and democratic innovations across various policy and community contexts. He was Academic Lead on Democratic Innovation at the Edinburgh Futures Institute (2019-2023), and Co-director of CRITIQUE (2021-2023). He also co-led the research projects European Smart Urban Intermediaries (2017-2020), Distant Voices (2017-2020) and What Works Scotland (2014-2019), and currently co-leads on public engagement at Behavioural Research UK (2023-2028) and on political economy at the EU Horizon project INSPIRE – Intersectional Spaces of Participation (2024-2027).