Japan to greet Pope with AI song

This is the official music video that's been released to welcome Pope Francis to Japan this weekend.

It's called "Protect All Life - The Signs of the Times."

It combines singing, dancing and hand gestures from Japanese sign language, and was created, with the help of artificial intelligence.

A local Catholic music producer, Jun Inoue, composed the song using an AI-powered program he created.

The software can write a piece of music in just a few seconds, and this was the outcome.

Inoue is usually known for producing songs for J-pop boybands, but he said he wanted this song to resonate with everyone:

(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MUSIC PRODUCER OF "PROTECT ALL LIFE ~THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES~", JUN INOUE, SAYING:

"We wanted to make a song that would be emphathized by everyone beyond the framework of the Catholics. That's why we produced this song."

Inoue hopes worshippers will sing and dance along with the song during public masses at stadiums.

It's not the only performance that Pope Francis will hear during his seven-day trip to Asia.

A 61-strong choir in Thailand have been warming up their vocal chords, ahead of their performance for the pope in St Peter's parish.

The Pope landed in Bangkok on Wednesday (November 20) and will be moving on to Japan on Saturday (November 23).