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They may want votes, but some Japanese election candidates have been cutting back on handshakes on the campaign trail as the new flu virus reaches epidemic proportions in Japan.
The country has confirmed three deaths from the H1N1 influenza virus, and the health minister said Wednesday a rise in cases meant the new flu had spread more than expected this summer.
With little more than a week to go until the August 30 election that his opposition Democratic Party looks likely to win, candidate Denny Tamaki is playing it safe.
"Shaking hands during an election campaign is key, so this is pretty troubling," Tamaki told the reporters.
"It would be bad if I get infected myself and then pass it on to older people with weaker immune systems," said Tamaki, whose home island of Okinawa has been hit hard by the flu.
Fellow Democratic Party candidate Katsuhito Yokokume, locked in a tough fight against popular ex-premier Junichiro Koizumi's son, took a break from campaigning a few days ago after showing flu symptoms, media reported.
When he resumed, he made a rather unusual campaign pledge.
"We'll make sure not to give speeches so close that the audience might get hit with spittle," Yomiuri quoted one of his campaigners as saying.
Makiko Fujino, a ruling party candidate in the city of Nagoya, where an 81-year-old woman died from the new flu, brought disinfectant along to her rallies.
"I watched the news and thought some people might be worried, so I quickly brought some along," she told the reporters.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura urged people to wash their hands but said there were no plans to limit public gatherings.
The new H1N1 influenza virus has caused the first pandemic of the 21st century, according to the World Health Organization. When the northern hemisphere's autumn weather sets in, it is expected to worsen. Most cases are mild to moderate, with H1N1 appearing to be about as deadly as seasonal flu.
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(Agencies)
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參加日本（眾議院）選舉的候選人們想拉選票，但由于新的（H1N1）流感病毒在日本大規模流行，一些候選人在宣傳造勢的過程中減少了握手次數。
日本已確認有三人死于甲型H1N1流感。日本衛生事務大臣于本周三表示，確診病例的增加表明今年夏季新型流感的傳播速度超過預期。
雖然距離8月30日的大選僅剩一周多一點的時間，而且日本反對黨派民主黨有望勝出，但候選人玉城丹尼還是決定謹慎行事。
他在接受記者采訪時說：“在競選活動中，握手非常重要，所以這相當麻煩。”
他說：“如果我感染了流感，再把它傳染給免疫力較弱的年長者，那就糟了。” 玉城丹尼的家鄉沖繩島是流感的重災區。
據媒體報道，日本民主黨候選人橫米勝仁數天前出現流感癥狀后暫離選戰。他與人氣較高的前首相小泉純一郎的兒子的競爭十分激烈。
在重返競選戰場后，他做出了一個非同尋常的競選承諾。
日本《讀賣新聞》援引其競選陣營一名成員的話說：“我們保證不會近距離發表演說，以免聽眾因唾液傳播而染病。”
來自名古屋的執政黨（自民黨）候選人藤野真紀子在參加集會時隨身攜帶消毒劑。名古屋的一名81歲的老婦因流感而去世。
她在接受記者采訪時說：“我看了新聞，覺得有些人可能會擔心，所以趕緊帶了一些來。”
日本內閣官房長官河村建夫敦促人們勤洗手，但表示無意限制公眾集會。
世界衛生組織稱，新出現的甲型H1N1流感病毒造成21世紀首次疾病大流行。隨著北半球進入秋季，流感疫情預計還將加劇。大多數病例的嚴重程度為輕微至中等，而且目前看來H1N1流感的致命性與季節性流感差不多。
相關閱讀
關注甲型H1N1流感
預防甲型流感 英教徒改握手為擁抱
墨西哥將為首例患流感男童建雕像
日本學生因流感停課 唱卡拉OK打發時光
新加坡發起全民洗手運動 防止疾病傳播
美國：創意口罩迎戰流感恐慌
（英語點津許雅寧 姍姍編輯）
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