Post-war “one room, one light” life illuminated by fluorescent lights Pana’s last factory is coming to an end

The end of fluorescent lighting, which has illuminated people's lives since the war, is drawing to a close. Because it contains mercury, its manufacture, import and export will be banned internationally by the end of 2027, and the switch to LEDs is rapidly progressing. There are now only a few domestic manufacturers that continue to produce them.

Red flames ignite glass tubes one after another on a rotating machine. The straight tube is heated to approximately 800 degrees in a furnace and bent into a round shape.

The Panasonic Group's Takatsuki Factory (Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture) produces straight and ring-shaped fluorescent lamps. Domestic share is 60% (2024). Production of the compact version has already ended. At its peak, the company had seven production bases in Japan and overseas, but production volume has declined to about one-fifth, and this is the only one left. The production line, which has been running for more than 70 years, will stop at the end of September 2027.

Panasonic's predecessor, Matsushita Electric Appliance Manufacturing Co., Ltd., founded in 1918 by Konosuke Matsushita, laid its foundation with the success of its ``two-pronged socket'' for incandescent light bulbs. Domestic production of fluorescent lamps began in 1950. Production began at the Takatsuki factory in 1956.

A symbol of post-war affluent life

It was also a time when the Japanese economy was beginning to get on a growth track after receiving special demand during the Korean War. Compared to the mainstream incandescent light bulbs at the time, they consumed less power and had a longer lifespan, so they quickly became popular. Straight pipe types are now widely used in factories, schools, and offices, while ring types are now widely used in homes.

In particular, ring-shaped fluorescent lights are in the center of the ceiling...