It seems that regardless of the place, age, or circumstance, vigilantes will always be met with some sort of resistance from the officials. That was the case this week when the Chiba Prefectural Police Department announced that they would not be allowing the mysterious masked citizen, known as “Chibatman,” to participate in next year’s Chiba Kenmin Marathon.

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Chibatman, who had originally been approved by the marathon’s event committee to be a pacer for one half of the race astride his custom-built Batpod, was notified that his participation as a local superhero might be too reckless. Representatives of the police force explained their reasoning by saying that while they do think that citizens and residents would be delighted to see Chibatman participate, there is the possibility that spectators might get too excited and move or jump out on to the road in response, causing an obstruction or accident to occur.

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Despite this, permission has been granted for the use of Chibatman’s 3-wheeled homemade Batpod, as there is already a precedent for similar vehicles in performanceand demonstrations such as parades where riders will wave to spectators in the audience. Hopefully this allowance will make the case for Chibatman’s previously planned appearance.

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Chibatman, who can usually be seen riding around the streets of the Chiba Prefecture aboard his Batpod in full costume has been an active part of the community, and has been featured in news reports both locally and abroad. According to several interviews with him, his sole motivation is that he wants to make the people of his prefecture smile. Chibatman’s inspirational stride through Chiba has been going on for approximately three years now.

[Via Hachima Kikou]

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