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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
Rugby
Sep 20, 2019
Japan overcomes slow start to triumph over Russia in Rugby World Cup opener
Host nation Japan recovered from an early scare to beat rank outsider Russia 30-10 in the opening game of the 2019 Rugby World Cup on Friday night, sending a raucous crowd at Tokyo Stadium home happy.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 20, 2019
Rugby World Cup kicks off in Tokyo
The 2019 Rugby World Cup kicked off in spectacular style on Friday night with an opening ceremony that paid homage to traditional Japanese culture and featured All Blacks legend Richie McCaw emerging from a giant model of Mount Fuji with the trophy.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 20, 2019
All Blacks and Springboks set for titanic clash at Rugby World Cup
New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen is confident his team has what it takes to win an unprecedented third straight Rugby World Cup title, but for the moment he is looking no further than Saturday's monumental opening clash against archrival South Africa.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 19, 2019
Mind your manners and don't embarrass yourself at the Rugby World Cup
First time in Japan? Here are a couple tips that will serve you well.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 19, 2019
Retooled Brave Blossoms look to take world by storm
Japan head coach Jamie Joseph has a clear goal for the 2019 Rugby World Cup — lead his team to the quarterfinals for the first time in history.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 19, 2019
Japan hosts groundbreaking Rugby World Cup
The eyes of the world will be on Tokyo on Friday when Japan kicks off the 2019 Rugby World Cup in the opening game against Russia, taking the tournament outside its traditional heartlands for the first time.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 19, 2019
Brave Blossoms admit nervousness and excitement before RWC opener against Russia
Japan national team players on Thursday confessed to feeling nervous ahead of Friday's opening game of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, but are confident the excitement of the occasion will sweep away the butterflies when the host nation faces Russia at Tokyo Stadium.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 18, 2019
Episode 23: Welcome to the land of the rising scrum — Rugby World Cup 2019 special
This week, we talk to the Rugby World Cup chief, Japan Times rugby experts and a triple-cancer survivor who has cycled from the U.K. to Japan for the games.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 18, 2019
Brave Blossoms name team for Russia clash
Japan head coach Jamie Joseph on Wednesday urged his entire squad to be ready to play their part at the Rugby World Cup after naming his team to face Russia in Friday's tournament opener.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2019
Friends in high places: Tokyo Skytree's window washers
How would you like to spend an afternoon dangling 450 meters above the ground in a metal basket with room for only two people?
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 17, 2019
Organizers say stage set for 'transformational' Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup 2019 organizers on Tuesday said the stage is set for a "transformational" tournament as host nation Japan prepares to raise the curtain on the event this weekend.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 7, 2019
Japan fails aerial test against Springboks in Rugby World Cup warmup
Japan head coach Jamie Joseph has warned his players they must stand tall if they want to survive at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, after wilting under South Africa's aerial bombardment in a defeat on Friday.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 6, 2019
South Africa jumps out to early lead, manhandling Japan in pre-Rugby World Cup match
Japan failed to claim another famous win over South Africa on Friday as the 2019 Rugby World Cup host lost 41-7 to the Springboks in its final warmup match before the tournament begins later this month.
Japan Times
Rugby
Aug 31, 2019
Home advantage: World Cup puts Japanese rugby back in the spotlight
The date is June 4, 1995, and the Japan national rugby team is facing New Zealand's mighty All Blacks in its final pool game at the Rugby World Cup in South Africa. Japan, which has already been eliminated from the tournament going into the match at Bloemfontein's Free State Stadium, has conceded an...
Japan Times
Rugby
Aug 30, 2019
Former captain Brian O'Driscoll backs Irish to end slump before Rugby World Cup
Irish rugby legend Brian O'Driscoll believes Japan's players "will be licking their lips" at the prospect of facing an out-of-sorts Ireland at next month's Rugby World Cup, with a first-ever quarterfinal place for the Brave Blossoms the potential reward.
Japan Times
Rugby
Aug 29, 2019
Brave Blossoms coach Jamie Joseph hails contributions of team's foreign-born players
Japan national rugby team head coach Jamie Joseph countered observations Thursday that his squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup contains several players born overseas by asking the question "what is a foreign player?"
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2019
Under the big top of Japan’s Kinoshita Circus
Michael Howes claims his job is "no more dangerous than driving a car."
Japan Times
CULTURE
Aug 17, 2019
Game not over: Japan's amusement arcades tap community spirit to stay relevant
"Kana," to call him by the nom de guerre he uses when he is competing in arcade game tournaments, is so good at The King of Fighters '97 that he can beat most other players one-handed.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 25, 2019
The sound of summer: Love them or hate them, cicadas have a special place in Japanese culture
Cicadas — known as semi in Japanese — are a superfamily of insects with around 2,000 known species worldwide, around 35 of which live in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jul 21, 2019
Eating king Kobayashi bites back in new documentary
Takeru Kobayashi, the 'godfather of competitive eating' recounts how he devoured the American dream, until it chewed him up and spat him out again.
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

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