Megumi Kitazawa July 26, 2018 At the Closing ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared as Super Mario, a Japanese game character. This is a visible example that Japan has a “characteristic” culture featuring characters of manga/anime and video games. In the summer of 2020, Tokyo will host the Olympic Games and it will be a big opportunity for Japanese pop culture industry to grow in the global market. Super Mario (Courtesy: Alexas_Fotos