--- ---  # Japan's Shinzo Abe Pops Up as Super Mario for Olympics Closing Ceremony by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Aug 22, 2016 9:44 AM UTC  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, dressed up as Super Mario, makes an appearance during the closing ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Aug. 21, 2016\. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, dressed up as Super Mario, makes an appearance during the closing ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Aug. 21, 2016\. (Kyodo) ==KyodoKyodo—Kyodo by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Aug 22, 2016 9:44 AM UTC Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe surprised watchers of the Olympics Games closing ceremony by donning a Super Mario costume to celebrate the official handover from Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo. Abe made the whimsical entrance following a short clip which showed him transform into Mario to try to find the way to Rio. Joined by Pac-Man and anime figures, he jumps into his famous green pipe in Tokyo, and then falls down a tunnel through the earth to the Brazilian Maracana stadium. Abe then rose up from a pipe in the stadium dressed as the iconic Nintendo video game character, donning a suit and hat and holding a red ball, which he held high in the air. The bit was to commemorate the official handover to Tokyo, which will host the Olympic Games in 2020. > [](https://twitter.com/nippon%5Fen/status/767527479489671168) Social media immediately went wild, with viewers amazed at the sight of the typically stony-faced Prime Minister engaging in such light-hearted fun. > [](https://twitter.com/aBasithH/status/767532532732727297) > [](https://twitter.com/coverfer/status/767525650810806272) > [](https://twitter.com/patriciahizon/status/767527515619467264) > [](https://twitter.com/the%5Freal%5Fpalmer/status/767529975541030912) Shinzo Abe Dresses as Super Mario for Rio Closing Ceremony ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4460923/super-mario-japan-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4460923/super-mario-japan-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/"},"headline":"Japan's Shinzo Abe Pops Up as Super Mario for Olympics Closing Ceremony","datePublished":"2016-08-22T09:44:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:35:42.515Z","description":"But no sign of Donkey Kong","url":"https://time.com/4460923/super-mario-japan-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/","keywords":["Newsfeed","olympics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt80a22bbdcb575115/6988a322e20a8777fda921a4/ap_340808773641.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt80a22bbdcb575115/6988a322e20a8777fda921a4/ap_340808773641.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Olympics: Japanese PM Abe during closing ceremony","caption":"Olympics: Japanese PM Abe during closing ceremony","creditText":"Kyodo—Kyodo","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4460923/super-mario-japan-prime-minister-shinzo-abe/","name":"Japan's Shinzo Abe Pops Up as Super Mario for Olympics Closing Ceremony"}}]}] ```