I discovered the power of the global AFP news wire when my report from the Home Care and Rehabilitation show in Tokyo on an “anti-loneliness” hugging chair went viral.

The piece has been republished or written about by outlets including Yahoo News, The Guardian, The Telegraph, TIME Magazine, The Daily Mail, The Metro, The Mirror, MSN News, The Japan Times, New York Daily News, Complex, Jezebel, Discovery Channel News, The Bangkok Post, The Hindustan Times, Ghana Mma, France 24 and even inspired a video report by ‘WTFark’ on The Huffington Post.