author

 
Menu
Search
 
September 27, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Andrew MCKIRDY

Meta

Twitter

@Andrew_McKirdy

Andrew MCKIRDY
Andrew McKirdy is a sports writer for The Japan Times. His main beat is soccer, but he has also covered rugby, tennis, volleyball, golf and even tug-of-war. A native of the Scottish Borders, he has written for The Scotsman newspaper and organized filming for a program on Japanese soccer for ITV television.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Aug 29, 2018
Akira Nishino reflects on Japan's wild World Cup ride
Former national team manager Akira Nishino admits he still has regrets about Japan's exit from this summer's World Cup in Russia, but he believes the team has a bright future under successor Hajime Moriyasu.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Aug 25, 2018
Defining the Heisei Era: When Japanese sports went global
Baseball star Hideo Nomo may have blazed a trail for Japanese players in the MLB when he signed with the Dodgers in 1995, but the achievements of domestic athletes abroad in the Heisei Era certainly didn't stop there.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 25, 2018
Kengo Nakamura's second-half strike sends Frontale past Vegalta
Kawasaki Frontale maintained the pressure on J. League leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima with a 1-0 win over Vegalta Sendai in steamy conditions on Saturday.
Japan Times
Rugby
Aug 22, 2018
New stadium gives recovering Kamaishi hope for future
...
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 11, 2018
Vegalta Sendai capitalize on second-half chances to beat Kashiwa Reysol
Hiroaki Okuno and Takuma Nishimura both scored in the second half as Vegalta Sendai beat Kashiwa Reysol 2-0 on Saturday to claim their first J. League win in four games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 7, 2018
2020 Tokyo Olympics chiefs unveil pioneering face-recognition security system
Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic organizers are confident that security for the games will run smoothly and effectively after unveiling a pioneering face-recognition ID system Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2018
Olympic ceremonies promised to be full of 'Japaneseness' but will carry a worldwide message
Classical actor and director Mansai Nomura promised Tuesday that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies will be full of "Japaneseness" and "wit," one day after the games' organizing committee named him chief executive creative director for the four events.
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 5, 2018
Japan's World Cup team: A not so spotless record
National team captain Makoto Hasebe revealed Thursday that it was the team's staff — not the players — who were responsible for leaving the dressing room spotless following Japan's World Cup defeat to Belgium on Monday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 5, 2018
Nishino to pass torch as manager
...
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jul 3, 2018
Despite disappointing departure, Samurai Blue exceeded expectations at World Cup
Japan's exit from the World Cup on Monday was soccer at its cruelest, but once the dust has settled the team will be able to look back on its campaign with pride and satisfaction.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 29, 2018
Nishino made right call for Samurai Blue to advance
It was not pretty, but Japan did what was necessary to survive at the World Cup. If the Samurai Blue can make history by beating Belgium on Monday to reach the quarterfinals for the first time, the rather undignified end to Thursday's 1-0 loss to Poland will be long forgotten.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 25, 2018
Japan's conviction growing stronger with each step at World Cup
A World Cup campaign that threatened to be an ordeal for Japan is turning into one of steadily growing conviction. If the Samurai Blue can produce another performance like Sunday's 2-2 draw with Senegal, a place in the knockout round will be theirs for the taking.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 20, 2018
Early present helps Japan claim perfect start to World Cup campaign
An opening win that few saw coming has given Japan the perfect start to its World Cup campaign, but there will be further hurdles to clear if the team is to book its place in the knockout round.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jun 16, 2018
Fan excitement gaining momentum for 2019 Rugby World Cup
Rugby fans in Kobe believe excitement is growing ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup, with the national team's first-ever test match in the city on Saturday helping to turn up the volume.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jun 16, 2018
Italy holds off Brave Blossoms
Japan fell just short of a second straight win over Italy despite a furious second-half fightback on Saturday in a 25-22 defeat to the Azzurri in the first rugby test match ever to be played in Kobe.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jun 14, 2018
Tournament director Alan Gilpin confident 2019 Rugby World Cup organizers will be ready for extravaganza
The tournament director of the 2019 Rugby World Cup admitted Thursday that Japan's 12 host cities have yet to fully grasp the scale of the event but expressed confidence that they will be able to cope when an estimated 400,000 overseas fans arrive in 15 months' time.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 13, 2018
Russia awaits as stars get ready to battle for World Cup
The World Cup kicks off on Thursday (midnight Friday, Japan time) in Russia, marking the tournament's return to Europe for the first time since 2006. Thirty-two teams will compete over the next month for a place in the final at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on July 15.
Japan Times
SOCCER
May 31, 2018
Nishino reveals 23-man squad for World Cup
National team manager Akira Nishino named his 23-man squad for next month's World Cup in Russia on Thursday and targeted at least a draw from each of Japan's first-round games against Colombia, Senegal and Poland.
Japan Times
SOCCER
May 30, 2018
Ghana outclasses Japan as Akira Nishino endures disappointing first match in charge
New national team manager Akira Nishino was handed a stark reminder of the task he faces at next month's World Cup after Japan lost 2-0 to Ghana on Wednesday in its final warmup match on home soil.
Japan Times
SOCCER
May 29, 2018
Japan boss Akira Nishino hoping friendly against Ghana will ease his World Cup roster decisions
National team manager Akira Nishino expects to agonize over his World Cup selections right up until he names his 23-man squad on Thursday but hopes Wednesday's friendly match against Ghana will provide some answers.
China fires long-range missile into Pacific Ocean in rare test
Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on Oct. 1, 2019.
Takaichi and Ishiba head to runoff in LDP leadership election
A poster showing portraits of candidates for the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election at the party headquarters in Tokyo on Wednesday
Hyogo governor to seek reelection after automatically losing his seat next week
Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito after the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against him on Sept. 19　
Russia has a secret war drones project in China, intel sources say
Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a drone production facility of the the Special Technology Center in St. Petersburg on Sept. 19.
As Onosato dominates the spotlight, former sumo stars exit the stage
Takakeisho during a one-day tournament at Kokugikan in Tokyo in February 2020
Tokyo Game Show 2024 stacked with big returns and hyped announcements
Tokyo Game Show opens to the public on Sept. 28 full of cosplayers promoting a full slate of new and upcoming titles.
A first look inside the new Nintendo Museum
The Nintendo Museum opens to the public on Oct. 2, but unlike the company's all-ages games, the new attraction may be geared more toward older rather than younger gamers.
Japan MSDF warship sails through Taiwan Strait for first time
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Sazanami arrives in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean during a scheduled port visit in July. The Sazanami became the first Japanese warship to sail through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday.
People of all ages and sizes scale new heights amid climbing boom in Japan
A climbing wall at a kindergarten in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture. The sport has been on the rise in Japan, mainly due to the popularity it gained from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and new climbing walls are popping all over the place.
China fires long-range missile into Pacific Ocean in rare test
Chinese military vehicles carrying DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles travel past Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, on Oct. 1, 2019.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A woman passes an "akichi" (vacant lot) in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. The capital is littered with such small lots in part because of Japan's aging and shrinking population.
Dealing with rising land vacancies as Japan shrinks
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER