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Abe impersonated 'Super Mario' to promote Tokyo Olympics
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FILE - Then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears as the Nintendo game character Super Mario during the closing ceremony at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Aug. 21, 2016. Despite his fame as a Japan's longest serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe might have had enjoyed his biggest moment at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro. - photo by Yu Nakajima/Kyodo News via AP, File
TOKYO (AP) — Despite his prominence as Japan’s longest serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe may have enjoyed his biggest moment at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics before 70,000 at the city’s renown Maracana stadium. As a video was shown with Abe portrayed running late for the handover ceremony, the Japanese prime minister suddenly popped up on stage in Rio — to loud applause — dressed as Super Mario, the famous Nintendo video game character. He doffed his red cap to the crowd, and there could be no mistake where the Games were going next.