Yoroku: Determination of one Japanese environmentalist changed country’s course on CFCs

While it’s said there are no what-ifs in history, it’s still talked about when looking back on great achievements. Most refrigerators sold in Japan today don’t use chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Many could wonder, “If it wasn’t for this person, would we be seeing this?” And that person is Yasuko Matsumoto.

In 1985, the ozone hole, where ozone in the atmosphere above Antarctica had drastically decreased, was reported. Fears that harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun would pour down to the ground, increasing cancer cases sent a shockwave through the public.

Matsumoto, an English teacher at the time, went to study in the U.K. the following year. There, she witnessed environmental organizations that garnered public support through their strong investigative abilities. After returning to Japan, she joined the nongovernmental organization Greenpeace and began a campaign to ban the use of CFCs. Although she faced resistance from companies that argued they wouldn’t be able to defrost without the chemicals, she carefully presented data one by one to convince them.

With CFC production and consumption regulations advancing in many countries, the ozone layer is now on a path to recovery. Matsumoto was given the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 Best-of-the-Best Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award for her outstanding achievements in this field.

While working as an associate professor at Kyoto University and doing research related to environmental policy, Matsumoto was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. After a decade-long battle with the illness, she passed away at age 71. In August 2024, a memorial gathering was held in her honor, where government officials and scholars from Japan and abroad praised her brilliance.

Even when faced with differing opinions, she would ultimately win people over with her passion and mild-mannered personality. She had urged that “environmental destruction threatens the future of humanity. No matter how difficult the problem is to solve, giving up means losing.”

Sept. 16 marked the United Nations’ International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. We should carry on her indomitable spirit.

(“Yoroku” is a front-page column in the Mainichi Shimbun.)