Japanese stay away as swine flu spreads

The swine flu scare in Asia and the local outbreak in Honolulu is keeping away hundreds of Japanese visitors to Hawaii.

The daily number of Japanese visitors arriving in Hawaii dropped as much as 32 percent in recent weeks as the number of reported flu cases began to rise.

The first three cases of H1N1 Influenza A in Hawaii were reported May 5. Since then, 27 more cases have been identified on Oahu, totaling 30, including four new cases reported on Tuesday.

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A dozen of the cases are related to students and family members connected with Anuenue School in Palolo.

In Japan, nearly 200 people have been infected and all public schools in Hyogo and Osaka have been closed. Some companies have canceled business trips.

On May 9, Japanese arrivals to Hawaii dropped 25.2 percent to 1,926, compared to the 2,576 Japanese visitors who arrived on the same date in 2008.

For the past 11 days, Japanese arrivals have declined by double digits every day when compared to the same days last year.