State Senator Ann Kobayashi, a leader of the Senate women's caucus, said "she didn't want to get into" the specifics of the accusations, which she had not had time to review because she had been busy "attending functions." Ms. Kobayashi said an inquiry was inappropriate because "there is no victim." Actually, she said later, she meant no complainant, because Ms. Kwock does not intend to press any charges.

Ms. Kwock said another member of the women's legislative caucus paid a private visit to her salon, which is patronized by the town's political elite. This Democratic Representative told her, the hairdresser said, that "as an individual" she believed her.

But the lawmaker said she was too fearful of political consequences to comment publicly, a path taken by only two members of the State Legislature: Representatives Annelle Amaral, a Democrat, who has been labeled disloyal by many fellow party members and has suddenly been defeated for leadership positions she was expected to win, and Cynthia Thielen, a Republican, who has little to lose.

Mr. Inouye, married for more than four decades, has said relatively little about the accusations and was not available for an interview. But in earlier statements he said that Ms. Kwock's account "could be a matter of imagination" and that he would "welcome" an inquiry. On Dec. 1, the Senate Ethics Committee said it "had not yet determined that there is adequate evidence to warrant an investigation." Paradox at the Polls

Professor Milner said Democrats here "don't have to worry about defending themselves," and he added, "All Inouye had to say is 'No, I didn't,' and that's enough to protect him."

That was evident in voters' contradictory responses: pre-election polls found that 42 percent of likely voters believed Ms. Kwock, who passed a lie-detector test, and 20 percent Mr. Inouye, but on Election Day he won a sixth term by a wide margin.

Ms. Kwock was tricked into telling her story by a female campaign worker associated with Mr. Inouye's Republican opponent, State Senator Rick Reed. And it was this aspect, rather than the claims against the Senator, that captivated the local newspapers. The young woman claimed she was considering a position with Mr. Inouye and was concerned he might make sexual advances. She had heard, apparently from clients in whom the hairdresser had confided, that Ms. Kwock might be able to shed some light on the subject. The long conversation that ensued was taped and used briefly in a campaign advertisement in mid-October. The ad was withdrawn when Ms. Kwock threatened legal action.