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September 27, 2024
 

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Andrew MCKIRDY

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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 / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 7, 2016
Kashima's J. League title win a fitting end to flawed format
There was always a danger that the J. League's ill-fated introduction of a playoff championship format in 2015 would produce a deeply unsatisfying result somewhere down the line. Kashima Antlers' coronation as champions on Saturday night duly delivered it.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2016
Paris organizers confident they can avoid Tokyo's Olympic mess
The head of Paris' bid for the 2024 Olympics has branded Tokyo's original 2020 Games proposal "a fairy tale" and believes the French capital can avoid the kind of after-the-fact revisions bogging down Japan's organizers.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 4, 2016
Kashima lives up to championship pedigree by stunning Urawa for J. League crown
Kashima Antlers midfielder Gaku Shibasaki hailed his club's winning DNA after capturing a record eighth J. League title against Urawa Reds on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 3, 2016
Kanazaki's two-goal performance carries Antlers to title over shocked Reds
Kashima Antlers claimed their record eighth J. League title after coming from behind to stun Urawa Reds 2-1 in the championship final second leg on Saturday and win on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2016
Tokyo Olympic chiefs weigh private-sector venue funding
Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizers are entertaining the idea that venues built for the games could be financed and run by private-sector companies.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 30, 2016
Urawa shakes off rust to claim advantage in J. League Championship final
Urawa Reds manager Mihailo Petrovic hailed his ring-rusty players for shaking off the cobwebs of almost a month on the sidelines to claim a 1-0 win over Kashima Antlers in the first leg of the J. League Championship final on Tuesday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 29, 2016
Reds prevail over Antlers in first leg of championship final
Urawa Reds moved a step closer to winning their first J. League title in a decade after beating Kashima Antlers 1-0 in the first leg of the championship final on Tuesday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Nov 23, 2016
Antlers reach J. League final
Mu Kanazaki struck in the 50th minute to send Kashima Antlers into the J. League Championship final against Urawa Reds with a 1-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale on Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2016
World baseball chief plays down Fukushima Olympic fears
The president of world baseball's governing body on Friday played down fears that the sport's top stars will refuse to play in Fukushima if the nuclear disaster-hit prefecture hosts games at the 2020 Olympics.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 16, 2016
Halilhodzic sends warning to frozen-out stars after Japan's win over Saudis
National team manager Vahid Halilhodzic has warned his Europe-based stars to play regularly for their clubs or face a spell in the international wilderness after dropping Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki for Tuesday night's 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Saudi Arabia.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Nov 15, 2016
Japan triumphs over Saudi Arabia as Halilhodzic shakes up lineup
Japan put itself right back in the mix for 2018 World Cup qualification with a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Nov 12, 2016
Honda sweats on place in World Cup qualifier against Saudis
National team manager Vahid Halilhodzic has warned star player Keisuke Honda that he is not guaranteed of a starting place when Japan takes on Saudi Arabia in a crucial World Cup qualifier next Tuesday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Nov 11, 2016
Japan's Osako delivers two-goal performance in rout of Oman
Yuya Osako scored a double on his return to the national team as Japan warmed up for next week's World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia with a 4-0 friendly win over Oman on Friday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Nov 9, 2016
Japan looking to build on recovery in crucial Saudi clash
Vahid Halilhodzic appears to have weathered the storm that threatened to cut short his tenure as national team manager last month. But the Bosnian will be anxious not to slip back into the danger zone when Japan takes on Saudi Arabia in a World Cup qualifier in Saitama next Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2016
Fukushima eyed for baseball, softball games in 2020 Olympics
Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizers on Wednesday gave the green light for disaster-affected Fukushima Prefecture to host baseball and softball games.
Japan Times
Rugby
Nov 5, 2016
Argentina pummels Brave Blossoms in Joseph's debut
Japan lost 54-20 to Argentina on Saturday to deny Jamie Joseph a winning start to his reign as Brave Blossoms manager.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 3, 2016
Reds clinch top spot in J. League table despite draw with F. Marinos
Urawa Reds booked their place in the J. League Championship title match after drawing 1-1 with Yokohama F. Marinos on Thursday to finish top of the overall table.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 2, 2016
Four teams battling to avoid drop on final day of J. League regular season
While Urawa Reds and Kawasaki Frontale battle to clinch the top seed for the J. League Championship on the final day of the regular season on Thursday, a more decisive tussle will be going on at the other end of the table.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 29, 2016
Frontale keep pressure on Reds
Kawasaki Frontale ensured that the race for the J. League Championship top seed will go down to the final day of the regular season after a 1-0 win over Kashima Antlers on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 26, 2016
Stress-free Nakamura eyes title for Frontale
Kawasaki Frontale playmaker Kengo Nakamura has credited a newfound selfish streak for his resurgent form this season and is hoping to ride it all the way to the club's first J. League title.
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.
Deadline approaches for free HPV vaccine 'catch-up' campaign
A 13-year-old junior high school student receives a vaccine for the human papillomavirus at a hospital in Tokyo in 2022.
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.

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Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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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
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