For the past five years, Akihiko Koseki, has been putting on his bright yellow spandex suit and trademark poo-shaped hat, and going out on the streets of Tokyo to put a smile on people’s faces and teach them to be happier by not giving a crap.

In the beginning, Poop Man was merely a cheap marketing tool. Akihiko Koseki is an experienced mobile game developer who a few years ago came up with an idea for a game called Poo Pride. He had no money to promote it and decided that turning himself into a walking billboard for his game was the cheapest and at the same time most effective way of raising awareness about his game. So he had a yellow spandex suit and poop-shaped hat made, plastered the Poo Pride logo on his chest and started walking around as Poop Man. He’s been doing it for the last five years.

But as time went by, Poop Man evolved into something more than a simple video game mascot. After Japanese media covered his story and people started recognizing him on the street, Akihiko realized that he could us his quirky persona to improve the lives of over-worked, stressed Japanese workers. He became a motivational speaker and started holding workshops where he uses the poop theme to teach people to take it easy, relax and focus on the things that really matter. Apparently, the key to a happy life is not giving a crap.

On the Poo Pride site, Akihiro Koseki explains why he chose poop as the theme of his mobile video game and the Poop Man character. He claims that at first he just though it would be fun, but as he kept thinking about it, he found a deeper meaning to poop.

“We need poop to live. We carry it with us everywhere we go. But the moment it leaves our bodies, we shun it as stinky, dirty, vulgar, yucky,” Koseki writes. “But what if we could accept our poop for what it is? And what is it, exactly? I’d say: Poop is necessary for life, an essential element for health and happiness.”

“Accept whatever comes your way, even the things you wish didn’t happen to you. Balance childlike inspiration with the knowledge and skills of adulthood. Use the resulting wisdom to keep on coming up with alternatives.”

“Yucky things have value. And, I think poop is an apt symbol for things in life that are distasteful, and yet important,” he concludes.

Photos: Poo Pride/Facebook