A Japanese infantry unit has withdrawn a new patch designed by artificial intelligence after it was criticised for being immature, “aggressive” and out of step with the public image of the country’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF).

The 1st Infantry Regiment’s patch was unveiled on April 29 and features an elephant in a helmet and other combat gear, holding a machine gun across its chest. The elephant has chains across its shoulders and a human skull apparently attached to its chest, with blue flames emerging from one eye.

Elephants have featured in previous logos for the regiment, which was raised in January 1962 and is based at Camp Nerima in Tokyo. The design was meant to be used on unit T-shirts, badges and other items to “boost team morale and elevate the sense of belonging”, the unit said in a now-deleted social media post.

The public backlash was so fierce, however, that the military announced a few days later that it had withdrawn the design.

In a statement on Saturday, the Ground SDF said: “After comprehensively reviewing the design, we realised that we did not accurately anticipate how the public would perceive the image and it has therefore been decided that it is not something that should be actively disseminated externally.”

The reaction reflected sensitivity around the public image of the SDF, which is frequently associated at home with disaster relief and emergency response as well as national defence.