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December 23, 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.
A World Series public-viewing event in Oshu, Iwate Prefecture, on Wednesday.
BASEBALL
Oct 30, 2024
'A treasure': Win or lose, Ohtani is a hometown hero in Iwate
Anticipation was high among the roughly 60 supporters who gathered early in the morning to watch Ohtani and the Dodgers try to clinch the World Series.
Urawa's Yu Endo (right) competes for the ball with Kobe's Yui Narumiya during a match in Osaka in January.
SOCCER
Oct 2, 2024
Champions League can put Asian women's soccer on map, players say
Women's soccer in Europe and North America is in rude health, but Asia has fallen behind.
France's Arthur Fils celebrates with the winner's trophy after his victory over Ugo Humbert in the men's singles final of the Japan Open in Tokyo on Tuesday.
TENNIS
Oct 2, 2024
Fils saves match point to beat Humbert in all-French Japan Open final
Fils, the world No. 24, came back from the brink in the second set to edge his Paris Olympics doubles partner in a little over three hours in Tokyo.
France's Ugo Humbert hits a return against Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic during their men's singles semifinal match at the ATP Japan Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on Monday.
TENNIS
Oct 1, 2024
Humbert to face Fils in all-French Japan Open final
Tuesday's match will be the first all-French final on the ATP tour in four years.
Kei Nishikori hits a return against Holger Rune during their Japan Open quarterfinal match on Sunday.
TENNIS
Sep 30, 2024
Kei Nishikori misses out on semifinal spot after Holger Rune fights back from brink
Rune, the No. 6 six seed, came back from the brink to win four straight games and end the Japanese veteran's challenge in front of a lively crowd in Tokyo.
Kei Nishikori hits a return against Jordan Thompson during their second-round match at the Japan Open in Tokyo on Saturday.
TENNIS
Sep 28, 2024
Kei Nishikori advances to quarters at a Japan Open full of upsets
In other action, fifth seed Tommy Paul became the latest top player to make an early exit as he lost to Tomas Machac in the second round on Saturday.
Brighton & Hove Albion's Kaoru Mitoma (left) in action with Arsenal's Ben White at Emirates Stadium in London on Aug. 31
SOCCER
Sep 17, 2024
Japanese players in vogue as British clubs widen horizons
"It feels like there is more interest in Japanese players from around the world," says Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo.
Japan's Naoya Inoue (left) and Ireland's TJ Doheny fight during their super bantamweight title match at Ariake Arena in Tokyo on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
Sep 3, 2024
'Monster' Inoue eyeing Vegas bout after stopping injured Doheny
The unbeaten Inoue was declared the winner when Doheny was left hobbling and unable to continue following a barrage to the body.
Canada's Phil Wizard, whose real name is Philip Kim, competes in the men's breaking competition at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
OLYMPICS / Breaking
Aug 11, 2024
Canadian B-boy Phil Wizard wins first men's Olympic breaking gold
Phil Wizard, whose real name is Philip Kim, beat French B-boy Dany Dann in the final as Japan's Shigekix finished fourth.
Chile's Zhiying Zeng plays a return during her preliminary round match at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.
OLYMPICS / Table tennis
Jul 28, 2024
'Dream come true' for 58-year-old Olympic debutant despite loss
Zeng represented China, the country of her birth, as a young player but retired at 20 and moved to Chile, where she has lived for the past 35 years.
Japan's Tatsuru Saito competes during the 2022 world championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
OLYMPICS / Judo
Jul 4, 2024
Japan's Tatsuru Saito aims to emulate late father with judo Olympic gold
Hitoshi Saito was a judo great who triumphed at consecutive Olympics in 1984 and 1988 at over 95 kilograms.
Japan skateboarding national team coach Daisuke Hayakawa performs at a skateboard training area in Tokyo on June 12.
OLYMPICS / Skateboarding
Jul 2, 2024
Japan's skateboarding youth turn street culture into Olympic gold
National team coach Daisuke Hayakawa said that the number of skaters in Japan had tripled since the Tokyo Games.
England's George Martin is tackled by Japan's Atsushi Sakate (right) and Tomoki Osada during England's win over Japan on Saturday in Tokyo.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jun 22, 2024
Marcus Smith stars as England thrashes Japan 52-17 in Tokyo
Late scores for Koga Nezuka and Takuya Yamasawa gave the scoreline a more respectable look for Japan
Japan head coach Eddie Jones attends a training session in Tokyo on Friday.
MORE SPORTS / Rugby
Jun 21, 2024
Wary England set for Eddie Jones reunion in steamy Japan Test
Temperatures are set to reach 30 degrees Celsius in the capital for Eddie Jones' first game since returning to the Japan job for a second stint.
Machida Zelvia's Yu Hirakawa (center) is challenged by Albirex Niigata's Yuto Horigome during the two teams' J. League clash at Machida Gion Stadium in Machida, Tokyo, on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 4, 2024
From nonleague to top of the league for upstarts Machida
The team from Tokyo's suburbs tops the table approaching the halfway point of the season.
A visitor to the Japan Olympic Museum walks past a display of the Olympic Rings on a wet day in central Tokyo on May 1.
JAPAN
May 26, 2024
Japan wrestles with legacy of graft-stained Games in Paris warning
Cost overruns, corruption and COVID-19 all tarnished the Japanese public's memory of the Tokyo Olympics.
Mike Tyson (left) and Buster Douglas fight during the seventh round of their world heavyweight title fight at Tokyo Dome on Feb. 11, 1990.
MORE SPORTS / Boxing
May 3, 2024
Tokyo Dome to host boxing for first time since Buster Douglas upset Mike Tyson
Super-bantamweight world champion Naoya "Monster" Inoue will put his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery at the Big Egg.
Yokohama F. Marinos coach Harry Kewell watches the AFC Champions League semifinal first-leg soccer match between his team and South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai FC in Ulsan, South Korea, on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Apr 23, 2024
Kewell tells Yokohama to summon spirit of Istanbul to reach final
The former Leeds and Liverpool winger took over as Yokohama coach at the start of this year.
Badminton star Kento Momota leaves a news conference after announcing his retirement from Japan's national team, in Tokyo on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS / Badminton
Apr 18, 2024
Former No. 1 Kento Momota retires from international badminton at 29
Momota was once badminton's undisputed king, winning 11 titles in 2019 and losing just six of the 73 matches he played that year.
Dodgers' pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitches during the first inning of his MLB debut in Seoul. The outing was one to forget for the former Orix Buffaloes ace.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 22, 2024
Yamamoto shelled in debut as Dodgers lose to Padres
Yamamoto, who joined the Dodgers on a 12-year, $325 million deal in December, was taken out of the game after just one inning.
How Bashar Assad's inner circle fled Syria after his fall
Syrians step on posters of Bashar Assad and his father, Hafez Assad, in Homs, Syria, on Tuesday.
Zelenskyy to replace Ukraine ambassador to Japan
Ukrainian Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky delivers a speech during a handover ceremony of Self-Defense Force vehicles to Ukraine, at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, in May last year.
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
Honda and Nissan consider mutual production of vehicles, report says
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2023.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
For baseball fans, 2024 brought The Summer of Shohei Ohtani
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani reacts to a standing ovation from fans after hitting his 50th home run of the season, against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 19.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
North Korea aiding Russia where it needs it most, Canadian general says
North Korean special forces soldiers march and shout slogans during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of the country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang in April 2017.

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