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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
May 19, 2011
Copa saga gives JFA another harsh lesson in global realities
Japan was hoping to use participation in this summer's Copa America as a learning experience, but the saga that led to Monday's withdrawal should hopefully provide a lesson in itself.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 16, 2011
Frontale display impressive verve in win over Antlers
Kawasaki Frontale ensured Kashima Antlers' stop-start season remained stuck in first gear with a pulsating 3-2 win over the former J. League champions on Sunday.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 12, 2011
Early leaders stake claim as J. League settles into stride
It may be five weeks behind schedule, but finally the J. League season is beginning to hit its stride.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 8, 2011
Albirex not satisfied after tie with Ardija
Albirex Niigata preserved their unbeaten start to the J. League season but failed to find a way past Omiya Ardija in a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 4, 2011
Defense sets tone for Marinos in shutout over rival Reds
Yokohama F. Marinos kept up their impressive start to the J. League season with a well-deserved 2-0 away win over Urawa Reds on Tuesday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 28, 2011
Vegalta, HollyHock please fans with successful returns
Vegalta Sendai's late win over Kawasaki Frontale gave the J. League a memorable story line on its return to action on Saturday, but the mere fact that soccer was back on the menu was the real victory.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 24, 2011
Vegalta Sendai victorious in return
Vegalta Sendai enjoyed a fairy tale return to J. League action as Jiro Kamata scored an 87th-minute winner to give the stricken Miyagi Prefecture side a 2-1 victory over Kawasaki Frontale on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 23, 2011
Experience has taught Nakamura how to persevere
If the J. League is looking for inspiration as it prepares to restart the season on Saturday, Shunsuke Nakamura knows more than a thing or two about triumph over adversity.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Apr 21, 2011
Japan has much to lose as well as gain from trip to Copa
There is much to be gained by Japan participating at this summer's Copa America, but given the concessions required to send a team to Argentina there could be even more to lose.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 16, 2011
Stojkovic admits he has room to grow as manager
The European media may be keen to anoint Dragan Stojkovic as Arsene Wenger's successor at Arsenal, but the Nagoya Grampus manager's thoughts currently extend no further than the April 23 return of the J. League.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 2, 2011
Frontale's Soma says being manager no easy task
KAWASAKI — Forty-four-year-old Kazuyoshi Miura may have rolled back the years to score in Tuesday's disaster relief charity match, but for former international teammate Naoki Soma those days are long gone.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Mar 28, 2011
Saitama J. League clubs put skills to good use to lift evacuees' spirits
SAITAMA — Tuesday's charity match between the national team and a J. League select XI gives soccer a high-profile platform to contribute to disaster relief efforts, but beneath the radar the desire to make a difference is just as strong.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Mar 24, 2011
Soccer world stands together in Japan's hour of need
Empty platitudes are common in soccer, but there has been nothing false about the messages of support coming from all over Japan and around the world these past two weeks.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 23, 2011
J. League to resume season on April 23
The J. League will resume action on April 23 with as many afternoon kickoffs as possible for the rest of the season, the league announced Tuesday.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 18, 2011
Charity match replaces New Zealand friendly
Japan will take on a J. League select XI in a March 29 charity match in Osaka after New Zealand pulled out of a friendly on the same date, the Japan Football Association announced Thursday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 10, 2011
Mental fortitude saves day for Grampus, Antlers
If Nagoya Grampus' and Kashima Antlers' failure to win their opening fixtures constituted good news for the rest of the J. League, the manner in which both teams eventually salvaged a point did not.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 5, 2011
Grampus favored to repeat as J. League champions
The following is the second of a two-part J. League preview for the upcoming season. Team-by-team previews of the nine top-ranked teams competing in the first division are listed.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 4, 2011
Survival on top of agenda for J. League's lower half
The following is the first of a two-part J. League preview for the upcoming season. Team-by-team previews of the nine lowest-ranked teams competing in the first division are listed.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 3, 2011
Antlers target swift return to J. League supremacy
It has been four years since Kashima Antlers last headed into a new J. League campaign as contenders rather than champions, but for manager Oswaldo Oliveira the hunger remains the same.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 2, 2011
Ono, Ghotbi confident S-Pulse will be contenders
Given the changes that have taken place at Shimizu S-Pulse over the winter, new manager Afshin Ghotbi could be forgiven for playing down expectations in Shizuoka ahead of the new season.
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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