THE TRANSNATIONAL APPLICATION OF
SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAWS:
A CULTURAL BARRIER IN JAPAN
JACQUELINE M. EFRON*
1. INTRODUCTION
Globalization is shaping the world in which we live.' Although globalization began as an economic process, it has turned into a cultural, political, technological, environmental, and humanistic event.2 Globalization has forced corporations to expand their operations across geographical borders,' and has resulted in an increase in the number of multinational enterprises
("MNEs").4 Corporate expansion, without regard for geographi-
" J.D. Candidate, 1999, University of Pennsylvania Law School; A.B.,
1996, Lafayette College. This comment is dedicated to my parents, Laura and
Irwin Efron, for their infinite love and support, and to Blase K. Sacus for his patience and encouragement. Special thanks to Ryan Metz and his team of
Associate Editors for their editing assistance.
' "For business executives in the 1990's, implementing and maintaining a
[globally] integrated planning and control system will be a key factor for success."
Laura B. Pincus et al., Comment,Legal Issues Involved in Corporate Globalization,
1991 CoLUM. Bus. L. REv. 269, 269 (quoting Trotter, The Global
Management of Integrated Planning and Control, INT'L EXECUTIVE, Mar.-Apr.,
1990, at 27-28).
2 See Alex Y. Sieta, Globalization and the Convergence of Values, 30
CORNELL INT'L L.J. 429, 429-30 (1997).
3 See id.; see also Pincus, supra note 1, at 270 (noting that globalization results in the firm's management "dispersed across continents, and personnel assignments not [being] bound by languages, country lines or citizenship of the firm's employees.").
' See Paul F. Buller et al., The Challenge of Global Ethics, 10J. Bus. ETHICS
767, 767 (1991).
U. Pa. J. Int'l Econ. L. cal borders, requires corporate officers to deal with foreign laws, policies, and cultures. As a result, the businesses of the United
States, Western Europe, and Japan feel