Photo/Illutration People wearing masks listen to a stump speech in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on June 22. (Chika Yamamoto)

Candidates in the Upper House election are facing a conundrum over exposure.

While on the campaign trail, they want to remove their anti-virus masks to show their faces to potential voters and provide clearer speeches to the crowds.

Removing the masks can also provide relief—and safety—in the intense heat that recently scorched various parts of the country.

But going maskless in public could expose candidates to criticism that they are behaving recklessly at a time when new COVID-19 cases are soaring around the nation.

Most campaigns appear intent on avoiding such criticism.

“The number of infections is on the rise again, so we cannot ease measures against the virus,” a campaign official in Tokyo said.

One political party came under heavy fire during the Lower House election campaign in October last year, when its candidates were seen aggressively campaigning outdoors for votes during the pandemic.

For the July 10 Upper House election, however, the party said it has received almost no complaints about the campaigns, indicating that people have grown accustomed to living with the novel coronavirus.

But the party is also sending a message of safety this time around.

“We ask for your cooperation to wear masks and maintain social distancing,” a banner hanging from the campaign vehicle of one of the party’s candidates in Tokyo read.

Thirty-four candidates are vying for six Upper House seats in the Tokyo electoral district.

The capital area has just emerged from a record ninth straight day of temperatures above 35 degrees.

Tokyo on July 6 also reported more than 8,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time in about three months.

In general, the candidates in Tokyo are refraining from shaking hands with supporters or getting too close to the crowds.

Instead, they are bumping fists or elbows with voters while keeping their masks on for pictures.

But not all candidates are taking such strict anti-virus measures.

The campaign office of one Tokyo candidate received a guideline from the party stating that candidates can remove their masks if they maintain an appropriate distance from supporters.

An official of the campaign office said that guideline has enabled more candidates to give campaign speeches on the streets without wearing masks.

“We can show the candidate’s face, so we feel we are getting closer to (voters),” the official said.

The searing heat has also made a difference in terms of protocol.

An official from another campaign office said its candidate goes maskless while campaigning.

“Our candidate is at an old age, and we want to avoid heatstroke,” the official said.

Unmasked candidates often wrap a coolant around their necks. They have been heard shouting to crowds that they can beat the heat and their opponents.

During the heatwave, a campaign staffer for an opposition party candidate applied a cold spray on the head and neck of the politician emerging from a campaign vehicle after a speech.

The candidate also used a parasol to block the sun’s rays.

A politician running in the Gunma electoral district said it is preferable to shake hands with supporters.

“When I do fist bumps or touch elbows with supporters, I have to look at their hands or arms,” the candidate said. “But when I shake their hands, I can look at them straight in the eye.”

An opposition party candidate in the Fukuoka electoral district usually does fist bumps with supporters but shakes their hands if their conversation becomes emotional.

The candidate has tried to be careful.

“I can convey my feelings more when shaking hands with supporters, but I don’t want to be criticized if the scene is shown on TV,” the candidate said.

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