Yayori Matsui was an outstanding activist who led the earliest campaign against sex tourism and the trafficking of Asian women to Japan. She was also one of the first to draw attention to the issue of Asian "comfort women" and to bring justice to them internationally. 

She will be remembered as one of the prime movers of the Tokyo International War Crimes Tribunal on Military Sexual Slavery of Asian Women held in Tokyo in December 2000. Together with hundreds of activists, lawyers and victims of Japanese military sexual slavery she worked tirelessly to make the tribunal possible; resulting in the unprecedented decision of a People's Tribunal declaring the Emperor of Japan as a war criminal.

Among many of her achievements was being one of the most admired journalists in Asahi Shimbun for more than 30 years, covering such subjects as violence against women (especially trafficking and prostitution) and human rights abuses all over the world and in Asia in particular. She died in December 2002, and at her memorial service it was announced that she chose to give all her money to build a new Women's Resource Center of War and Peace.