Video Masked hero grabs broom to clean up Tokyo

While most super-heros fight crime, for one such Japanese hero the enemy is garbage and his super weapons are a broom, a dust pan and an army of volunteers who have joined his mission.

He calls himself Mangetsu-man, which means Mr. Full Moon in English. He first appeared on the streets of Tokyo last year without any publicity or fanfare. He has been regulary cleaning around Tokyo's Nihonbashi business district ever since.

Dressed in purple skin tights and a red and purple cape, he also dons a big yellow sphere over his head meant to represent the full moon and adorned with the chinese characters meaning "full".

Though he started alone, he soon became a local celebrity near the bridge that he frequents to clean.

He has kept his identity a secret to all so far and refuses to speak on camera in case someone recognises his voice. Instead he speaks through a smartphone's automatic dictation software. As his costume doesn't allow for easy typing though, he also only answers pre-prepared questions.

So through this contraption he was able to explain his mission:

"Cleaning isn't just about making something dirty clean. It's about staying clean. So it's about keeping one's heart clean as well. So if more people around the world clean up then I believe that there will be less negative news. I want to clean up all the negativity in the world through the power of cleaning," he told Reuters through the computer generated voice of his smartphone.

While most super heroes have powers or top secrets gadgets, Mangetsu-man admits his powers are more limited.

"I do this personally and not as part of a larger group. When I saw the first full moon in 2013 I heard this voice from above that said 'mangetsu-man' and that's when I got my duty to help bring peace to the world. Unlike other heroes I don't have any special powers or weapons. All I have is my broom and dust pan. But I want to prove that I can help bring peace to the work through the power of cleaning," he said.

He mainly cleans around the Nihonbashi bridge, historically Tokyo's most famous bridge until contructions of an expressway over the bridge shortly before the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics ruined what was for many its iconic status.

Mangetsu-man is one of many also petitioning the government to get rid of the overhead highway and clean it up ahead of the next Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020.

For passers-by, many who stop to take a picture with him, sometimes it take a few minutes to figure out what he is doing.

"At first I wondered what in the world this was but now I've really happy that I managed to actually meet him. He's actually bigger than I expected," said 40-year-old Masako Hoshi.

Thanks to his persistence and regular presence on the streets, he no longer works alone. A throng of volunteers regularly turn up to help him whenever he is around.

"I'm doing this to help Mangetsu-man," said 5-year-old Fuka Iwasaki, as she swept up around Mangetsu-man.

"When I have time I try to come by and help out with the cleaning. So that's why I also stopped by today as well," explained 17-year-old Miyu Sakurai, another ad-hoc helper.

However, even with his army of helpers, Mangetsu-man still has his work cut out for him. Like the villains of superhero novels, trash is never completely defeated.

Mangetsu-man and his broom says he will continue to keep the streets of Tokyo clean, one sweep at a time.

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