The Japanese Prime Minister dressed up like Mario at the Closing Ceremonies because the world is delightful

Last night, the 2016 Rio Olympics came to an end with the Closing Ceremonies. The athletes said goodbye to Brazil, four-time Gold Medalist Simone Biles carried the American flag, and everyone reveled in the excellent competitions we’ve seen over the past two weeks. The Closing Ceremonies also passed the Olympic flag to Japan in preparation for Tokyo 2020. Tokyo gave a preview of what the next Summer Olympics might look like, but the most fantastic moment came from the Japanese Prime Minister, who put a smile on everyone’s face.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared in Rio dressed as Mario from a green pipe, because the world is a wonderfully whimsical place.

Mario is of course a character that originated in Japan, so it is fitting that Japan would use our favorite adorable plumber in their Olympics presentation. What we love about these Olympic Ceremonies is that they encourage typically stoic world leaders to show off their theatrical side for the love of their country, and it makes for some great shows!

The Japanese presentation featured a red ball, symbolizing Japan, being passed through different sports and mediums.

Japan is 100% embracing its long tradition of creating some of our favorite characters, like Hello Kitty and Pac-Man. We are very excited to see what other whimsical things the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will bring to us.

The ball was then passed to Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister.

The video cuts to the Prime Minister in his car, saying he won’t be able to make it to Rio. That’s when the magic starts.

He transforms into Mario, and uses his plumbing skills to transport himself to Rio.

If this is what we can expect from Tokyo 2020, then we say, go Tokyo, go!

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