Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stunned the world at the Rio Olympics closing ceremony with a cosplay performance dressed as Mario.

The Internet is abuzz after the Japanese Prime Minister made a surprise appearance at the Rio Olympics closing ceremony, emerging from a green pipe dressed as none other than the famous Italian-American plumber Mario of Super Mario Bros. fame.

The Rio Olympics was coming to an end with the formal handing over of the Olympic flag to the new governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike. This led to an incredible short video introducing the coming 2020 Tokyo Olympics with shots of athletes performing on, in, and around symbolic Tokyo landmarks, as well as cameos from iconic Japanese anime such as Capitan Tsubasa, Hello Kitty and Doraemon.

You can see the short video and Shinzo Abe’s performance here:

A red ball is thrown, punched, and kicked from athlete to athlete to anime character and finally ends up in the hands of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. We then see Abe riding in the backseat of a car looking worryingly at his watch and saying, “I will not make it to Rio in time.”

But fear not! It’s a-me, Shinzo! Yes, Shinzo Abe suddenly turns into Mario and starts sprinting to the famous scramble crossing in Shibuya.

Doraemon then places a green pipe into the center of the crossing and a drill can be seen boring straight through the Earth’s crust to Rio. Mario/Shinzo jumps into the pipe and makes a rapid descent through the Earth.

Suddenly we are back at Rio, where a green pipe is visible in the center of the stadium, and we can hear a count down, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

▼ Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears as Mario at Rio Olympics closing ceremony

https://twitter.com/olympicchannel/status/767537308098760704

A real life Super jumps out of the pipe to loud cheers and his costume then falls away, revealing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe still wearing Super Mario’s hat and carrying the red ball.

This must be one of the greatest entrances for a world leader in the history of world leaders. The Internet is now going into meltdown over discussions of Abe’s appearance as Super Mario.

If Japan or the world wasn’t excited about the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before, it surely will be now.

Source: LiveDoor, Twitter/@lmfaofa
Featured image: Twitter/@olympicchannel