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September 28, 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 / World cup
Jun 10, 2014
Brazil ready to take on world's best on home turf
The World Cup kicks off on Thursday (Friday, Japan time) in the country that has won the tournament more times than any other — Brazil. Thirty-two teams will compete over the next month for a place in the final at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium on July 13.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 4, 2014
Comeback win lifts confidence as Japan prepares for Brazil
National team manager Alberto Zaccheroni was looking for improvement in his players' physical condition in Monday's friendly against Costa Rica, but the mental boost they received from their 3-1 win could turn out to be even more important.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
May 28, 2014
Zaccheroni insists Japan will hit stride at World Cup
National team manager Alberto Zaccheroni is confident his side can shape up in time for the World Cup but admits the Blue Samurai are currently running on empty.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
May 27, 2014
Uchida goal gives Japan victory over Cyprus in World Cup send-off
Atsuto Uchida scored two minutes before halftime to give Japan a 1-0 win over Cyprus on Tuesday in the Blue Samurai's last home game before heading off to the World Cup in Brazil.
Japan Times
Rugby
May 25, 2014
Japan punches ticket to Rugby World Cup in final sporting event at national stadium
Japan booked its place at the 2015 Rugby World Cup with a 49-8 win over Hong Kong on Sunday in the final sporting event at National Stadium before it is demolished and rebuilt to stage the 2020 Olympics.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
May 25, 2014
Murofushi urges Japanese athletes to expand horizons in preparation for 2020 Games
Former Olympic hammer champion Koji Murofushi has urged Japan's athletes to embrace the pressure of the 2020 Tokyo Games and end the country's track and field gold drought.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 21, 2014
Solid base puts Urawa top at break
There is no prize for heading into the J. League's World Cup shutdown in first place, but Urawa Reds can at least savor the view from the top of the table for the next two months.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 17, 2014
Sekine strike helps Reds sink Cerezo
Teenager Takahiro Sekine scored seven minutes after coming on as a substitute to send Urawa Reds into the J. League summer break on top of the table after a 1-0 win over Cerezo Osaka on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
May 14, 2014
Zaccheroni sticks to his guns despite surprise Okubo choice
Yoshito Okubo's dramatic World Cup recall may have grabbed the headlines when national team manager Alberto Zaccheroni unveiled his squad for Brazil on Monday, but the Italian's final roster was anything but impulsive.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
May 12, 2014
Zaccheroni chooses Okubo for World Cup
Striker Yoshito Okubo claimed a place in Japan's World Cup squad after more than two years in the international wilderness as manager Alberto Zaccheroni named his 23-man selection on Monday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 3, 2014
Kudo goal gives Reysol triumph over Antlers
Masato Kudo scored on the stroke of halftime as Kashiwa Reysol scalped J. League leaders Kashima Antlers 1-0 on Saturday to pick up their third straight win.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Apr 30, 2014
World Cup squad shaping up as Zaccheroni weighs options
With national team manager Alberto Zaccheroni set to name his World Cup squad on May 12, Soccer Scene takes a look at the candidates. Names in bold are those predicted to make the final 23-man roster:
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 29, 2014
Nagoya ends losing streak with victory over FC Tokyo
Kisho Yano scored three minutes into the second half to give Nagoya Grampus a 1-0 win over FC Tokyo on Tuesday and end a run of five straight defeats.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 28, 2014
Tokyo's Morishige too focused to dream of World Cup
FC Tokyo defender Masato Morishige insists he has no time to dream of World Cup glory with the capital-city club still adapting to life under new manager Massimo Ficcadenti.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 26, 2014
Reysol win on last-gasp strike
Junya Tanaka scored with a thunderbolt in the third and final minute of injury time to give Kashiwa Reysol a 3-2 win over Urawa Reds on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 23, 2014
Strong start sees new-look Vissel avoid past mistakes
Past disappointments may have persuaded Vissel Kobe fans to temper their expectations when the club unveiled its latest signings over the offseason, but Saturday's table-topping win over Kashima Antlers has surely prompted a rethink.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 19, 2014
Vissel edge Antlers
Vissel Kobe went top of the J. League for at least 24 hours after an incident-packed 3-2 win over Kashima Antlers on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Apr 15, 2014
Saito ignites Marinos with two rapid-fire goals in second half
Manabu Saito dragged Yokohama F. Marinos' Asian Champions League challenge back from the dead with two goals in the space of a minute in a 2-1 win over Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Tuesday night.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 9, 2014
Reinvigorated Antlers looking to rule J. League again
It has been a few years since Kashima Antlers could rightly be described as the team to beat in the J. League, but this season's early form suggests the seven-time champions are fast recovering their old aura.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 6, 2014
Kashiwa outclasses Cerezo's stars
Kashiwa Reysol gave Cerezo Osaka's much-vaunted strike force a lesson in clinical finishing with a 2-1 win over the preseason J. League title favorites on Sunday.
In rare retrial, Shizuoka court rules ex-boxer not guilty of 1966 murders
Hideko Hakamata (center) and lawyers representing her younger brother, Iwao Hakamata, pose with a banner that reads "Iwao Hakamata verdict not guilty" as they leave the Shizuoka District Court on Thursday after the ruling was delivered.
Giant African snails mark 90 years of history in Okinawa
Giant African snails are unpopular among local residents and are referred to as an alien species that shouldn’t be touched, as they damage crops and sometimes hosts rat lungworms.
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
Putin issues nuclear warning to the West over Ukraine striking Russia
Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Security Council on the subject of nuclear deterrence in Moscow on Wednesday.
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.
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.

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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