Shinzo Abe -- aka 'Super Mario' -- loses out on Olympics
Associated Press
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 28, 2020. Abe was a star of the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, parading before a 70,000 sellout at the Maracana stadium as Nintendo game character Super Mario. It was Abe's humorous invitation to the next Olympics in Tokyo. It turns out that Abe won't be around, at least not in an official capacity, when the postponed Olympics are set to open on July 23, 2021. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)FILE- In this Sept. 7, 2013, file photo, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, shakes hands with President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge as Tokyo 2020 Olympic Bid Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda stands by after signing the Host City Contract for the 2020 Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Abe was in the front row in 2013 in Buenos Aires when IOC President Jacques Rogge opened an envelop to show Tokyo was the 2020 host, beating out Istanbul. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)FILE- In this Aug. 21, 2016, file photo, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waves during the closing ceremony for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Abe was a star of the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, parading before a 70,000 sellout at the Maracana stadium as Nintendo game character Super Mario. It was Abe's humorous invitation to the next Olympics in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 28, 2020. Abe was a star of the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, parading before a 70,000 sellout at the Maracana stadium as Nintendo game character Super Mario. It was Abe's humorous invitation to the next Olympics in Tokyo. It turns out that Abe won't be around, at least not in an official capacity, when the postponed Olympics are set to open on July 23, 2021. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP)
