Award Information

Abe Fellowship 1993
Institutional Affiliation (at time of award):
Visiting Professor, Comparative Law and Politics, University of Tokyo
Sexual Harassment of Working Women in Japan: Policy Options and Emerging Solutions

Legal, political and corporate policy makers in Japan are beginning to grapple with the problems posed by sexual harassment of working women. Their responses suggest that no consensus yet exists about how or whether to address it. Early indications from policy statements, draft legislation and litigation suggest that certain approaches may be borrowed from the United States, where a clear consensus exists that sexual harassment is a serious problem of sex discrimination. Without culturally specific modifications, such borrowing may prove unsatisfactory, given the absence of enforceable sex discrimination laws in Japan. At this critical. juncture, I propose to write an extended law review article or book analyzing possible Japanese legal and public policy responses to sexual harassment, based upon a critical assessment of the development of such policy and law in the United States and EC countries.

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