Raw chicken is generally considered not safe to eat. A lot of people eat sushi/sashimi though, and they are made from raw fish. So, how come that's safe (if it is)?
Fish – Is it safe to eat raw fish
fishfood-safetyrawsushi
Related Solutions
You can have raw chicken in restaurants in Japan - it's delicious. Depending on where you live there may be better or worse food safety standards, but there is nothing poisonous about raw chicken itself.
By the way, sushi is a dish with vinegary rice. The raw-meat dish is Sashimi. A picture of chicken sashimi:
You will note that in this photo the chicken is actually not raw but quite rare. The exterior of the chicken flesh is actually seared and cooked through several millimeters.
Not being aware of your location, some general tips:
Buy your fish from a fishmonger, and tell him/her what you are using it for. You want to do business with somebody whose business is selling fish and only selling fish. They are going to know what's been stored to eaten raw standards in a way that the just above minimum wage fish guy at your grocery store doesn't.
Don't buy it early. Buy it the day you mean to consume it or the day that you are going to prepare it. This question can help walk you through that.
Take a cooler to get your fish. You have to maintain the freshness, that means not allowing it raise in temperature anymore than you have to.
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Best Answer
I discussed a similar subject in this question: What exactly is "Sushi Grade" fish?
Raw fish isn't safe to eat if it's just been sitting around. However, the raw fish used in sushi/sashimi has been frozen (typically flash-frozen) in order to kill any parasites, making it as safe as any other food.
Most distributors of sashimi also have their own methods and internal regulations to ensure food safety, but specifics are understandably hard to come by. Suffice it to say, it's far safer to eat properly-prepared nigiri or sashimi than it is to eat an undercooked hamburger.