What Dr Shibata began to explain is that robots, in Japanese culture, are seen very positively. Thanks to Manga characters like Astro and Doraemon, robots were soon seen as the friend of humanity more than anything else. It is thus in the nature of things that Japan was the first country to develop a therapeutic robot like PARO.

© Siham Ghilli

Made in Namto in Japan, PARO is first of all a medical help meant for old people. Its introduction into nursing homes demonstrated the efficiency and the success of this method. PARO succeeded in reducing stress and boredom, encouraging people to socialize, helping the concentration and allowed to reduce considerably the medications given to people under therapy.

Its positive effects can also be a gift for people in extreme distress. For instance, PARO could be put into the hands of some Fukushima disaster victims to help them overcome the trauma.

For a few years, PARO has traveled around the world to be displayed. And the export has already started! About 300 are found in Europe and a hundred in the United States. In Japan, there already are 1800 of them! Here in Europe, they can only be found in institutions for old people but maybe one day they will be in our homes!