Why was Japan's prime minister dressed as Super Mario at the Olympics Closing Ceremony?

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dresses as Super Mario at Olympics

(Image credit: Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is "not famous for his extrovert displays and pop culture references," as BBC News puts it, so it was a surprise when he appeared at the Closing Ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro dressed as the fictional plumber Super Mario.

Tokyo is hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics, and Abe's show-stealing appearance followed a video montage of Japanese athletes interacting around Tokyo with famous Japanese video game and anime characters, including Pac-Man, Hello Kitty, and the blue cat Doraemon (though there were no Pokémon characters). In the video, Abe, pretending to be late to the games in a Tokyo limo, transformed into Mario and, with an assist from Doraemon, jumped down a green pipe, appearing in real life out of a green pipe stage in Rio, shedding his costume and red hat to reveal a nicely tailored suit and a red ball, the symbol of the Tokyo Games.

The idea to dress up as Super Mario was Abe's, according to Tokyo 2020 organizers, and Nintendo said only that the Japanese government asked permission to borrow its most lucrative and best-known character for the show. The general consensus is that his idea was a success. "As they gear up for the 2020 Games, the organizers appear to have achieved what they were striving for," The Associated Press reports: "'Cool!' 'OMG,' and 'I want to go to Tokyo!' were among various comments on Twitter." Well played, prime minister.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.