After her triumph, Tabei and her expedition team met the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and was congratulated by the world. 

“Her fear won banner headlines in all Japanese newspapers Saturday. One headline read “A big success by a Mom!”

“Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Miki told a news conference Saturday, “It’s a really big achievement. An adventurous spirit is needed to accomplish something which has never been done before”. 

Junko Tabei: There were so many media people. I had almost no time to be together with family. My three-year-old daughter was scared of all the cameras. The Emperor, Crown Prince, and Princess all invited us to the Palace. The Prime Minister, Labor Minister, and the Minister for the Culture and Education invited us to a luncheon. The Nepali government gave me the medal of honor. It took two months until I could settle at home. Even after that I had to deal with many invitations and give lectures. I just simply climbed a mountain—but the environment around me changed so much, just because I was the first woman. I did not intend to be the first woman on Everest.

Woman in Japan would make Junko Tabei a symbol of hope for housewives. As a mother, many woman believed her success truly confirmed that mothers can complete big things.

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She later devoted herself to helping the enviroment and the youth. Junko completed post-graduate studies at Kyushu University focusing on the environmental decline of Everest caused by waste left by climbers. She became a director of of Himalayan Adventure Trust of Japan, a organization that was established to preserve the Everest habitat. Junko also began to lead youth climbing groups to help students train and build skill on climbing. For the rest of her life, she devoted herself to advocate for sustainable mountaineering. ​​​​​​​

credit: Kyodo News

She later explained that since her achievement, many people have tried to climb Mount Everest. 

“Everest has become too crowded. It needs a rest now,” she said at a 2003 parade in Nepal to mark the 50th anniversary of the first successful ascent of the peak by New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary.

She was later diagnosed with cancer of the peritoneum in 2012 and given 3 months to live. 

“During this time, her chemo worked and she was in remission, but the after effects caused her to have a harder time to climb”.

In 2015, Junko returned to Nepal to see Mount Everest again. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Junko Tabei set out for Syangboche for a good view of Mount Everest in 2015.

“I want to see Mount Everest again. I’m not sure how many more trips I can make”. Her journey to "her second home" was difficult due to her age and past medical issues. 

​​​​​​​“Each step is painful. It was different when I was running around here in my 30s. But I feel completely happy here”.