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September 01, 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 / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 13, 2017
J. League title race heating up as top five break away
The 2017 title race has been wide open even by J. League standards, but with nine games remaining a definite top five is beginning to emerge.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Sep 12, 2017
Date routed 6-0, 6-0 in final match of career
Kimiko Date brought the curtain down on her storied tennis career after a first-round 6-0, 6-0 loss to Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic at the Japan Women's Open on Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2017
As more Japanese take up bodybuilding, a veteran chases a championship
Naoki Go carefully positions his feet on the ground, slowly lifts both arms, then shuffles as if preparing to shoulder a huge imaginary weight.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 1, 2017
Halilhodzic praises team's resolve, responds to critics after Japan clinches spot in World Cup
National team manager Vahid Halilhodzic took a swipe at his critics after guiding Japan to a place at the 2018 World Cup with a 2-0 win over Australia on Thursday night, before revealing that an unspecified issue in his private life almost forced him to miss the game.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Aug 31, 2017
Japan secures spot in sixth consecutive World Cup
Takuma Asano and Yosuke Ideguchi scored in each half to book Japan's place at the 2018 World Cup with a 2-0 win over Australia on Thursday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Aug 29, 2017
Yoshida, Japan teammates await important match against Australia
Japan defender Maya Yoshida insists he and his teammates are relaxed ahead of Thursday's crunch World Cup qualifier against Australia despite rumors that manager Vahid Halilhodzic will be fired if the Samurai Blue fail to win.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Aug 23, 2017
Podolski's Japan adventure in danger of turning sour
Things are not going well for Lukas Podolski.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 19, 2017
Reds remain unbeaten since new manager Hori's appointment last month
Shinzo Koroki scored twice as Urawa Reds continued their nascent revival under new manager Takafumi Hori with a 2-1 win over FC Tokyo on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 13, 2017
Kawasaki slams door on Kashima's unbeaten streak
Kawasaki Frontale ended Kashima Antlers' nine-match unbeaten run and cut the gap on the J. League leaders with an emphatic 3-1 win on Sunday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 5, 2017
Frustrated Podolski tastes defeat in J. League for first time as Vissel falls to Kashiwa
Kashiwa Reysol brought an abrupt end to German World Cup-winner Lukas Podolski's J. League honeymoon after coming from behind to beat Vissel Kobe 3-1 on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jul 13, 2017
Rakuten, Barcelona hail official start of partnership, lucrative sponsorship
Rakuten Inc. will be splashing its name across "the most important shirt in the world," according to Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, after the e-commerce giant celebrated the start of its four-year, $235 million sponsorship with the iconic Spanish soccer club on Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 5, 2017
From sex toys to works of art: 'Love doll' maker seeks to shed seedy image
Japan's oldest "love doll" manufacturer wants to strip the sex toys of their seedy image and encourage people to see them as works of art instead.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jul 5, 2017
Moriyasu can leave Sanfrecce with head held high
It was probably in the best interests of everyone at Sanfrecce Hiroshima that Hajime Moriyasu stood down as manager on Tuesday, but that should not obscure the debt of gratitude that the three-time J. League champions owe him.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 1, 2017
Reds' Sekine sinks Sanfrecce in injury time to cap J. League thriller
Takahiro Sekine scored an injury-time wonder goal as Urawa Reds beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-3 in a wild J. League encounter on Saturday night.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jun 24, 2017
Ireland routs Japan for sweep
Ireland beat Japan 35-13 on Saturday to sweep their two-game series despite a rousing second-half performance by the 2019 Rugby World Cup hosts.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jun 21, 2017
Ireland looking to break World Cup hoodoo
The Ireland rugby team believes it deserves to be considered among the favorites to lift the 2019 World Cup in Japan and has little time for suggestions that the six-time quarterfinalist is jinxed in the competition.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jun 17, 2017
Fans travel far, wide to show support for Ireland rugby squad
Ireland rugby fans attending their country's test match against Japan in Shizuoka on Saturday were confident that supporters around the Asia-Pacific region will help make the 2019 World Cup an international festival.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jun 17, 2017
Ireland hammers Japan in test
Ireland handed Japan a harsh lesson with a 50-22 victory in the first of two test matches between the 2019 Rugby World Cup group rivals on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2017
Imprisoned Japanese Red Army founder Shigenobu holds out hope for revolution
The imprisoned founder of the Japanese Red Army admits her efforts to bring revolution to Japan in the 1970s and '80s ended in failure but she remains optimistic that public protest can check government moves to alter the pacifist Constitution.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jun 8, 2017
Halilhodzic demands fast start in qualifier after first-half no-show against Syria
Japan manager Vahid Halilhodzic has warned his players that they are in for a rude surprise if they tackle next week's World Cup qualifier against Iraq with the same laissez-faire attitude with which they began Wednesday's 1-1 friendly draw with Syria.
Alerts issued for Tokyo area cities as Shanshan crawls across Japan
A submerged area of Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on Thursday after Typhoon Shanshan dumped torrential rain throughout the Kyushu region.
Typhoon Shanshan batters Kyushu ahead of likely landfall
A satellite image shows Typhoon Shanshan south of Kyushu on Wednesday afternoon
From tropical storm to 'violent': Japan’s typhoon classifications
A satellite image from Wednesday shows Typhoon Shanshan south of Kyushu as the storm was rapidly intensifying.
Tropical Storm Shanshan soaks Japan as flood and landslide risks rise
People walk in front of closed ticket gates for the Tokaido Shinkansen in Tokyo Station as train operations between Tokyo and Nagoya remain suspended due to Tropical Storm Shanshan on Saturday.
Will Bangladesh go the way of Pakistan?
Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, Bangladesh's army chief, arrives at Dhaka International Airport to receive Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus on Aug. 8 to lead the country's interim government.
Japan seeks another record-breaking defense budget for fiscal 2025
Members of the Ground Self-Defense Force hold a live-fire exercise at the GSDF's training grounds in the East Fuji Maneuver Area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture, in May. Japan's Defense Ministry is seeking another record-breaking budget for fiscal 2025.
Can Japan handle a heat wave and natural disaster at the same time?
A member of the Self-Defense Forces wipes away sweat as he conducts a search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by heavy rain in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 11, 2018.
Did you feel that? It may be time to refresh your disaster kits — and vocabulary.
A map of western Japan shows the Nankai Trough and, to its north, the hypocentral region where the energy for an earthquake is thought to be building.
This English schoolboy has big dreams of becoming yokozuna — and more
Nicholas Tarasenko trains at Minato stable in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, on Tuesday. Tarasenko’s potential in sumo was made obvious when he won U18 gold in the 90-kg weight class at the 2023 Baruto Cup in Estonia despite being four years under the age limit and having only had a total of one hour of sumo training before the meet.
Kitakyushu clashes with academics over Meiji Era remains
Remnants of the first Moji station complex are located near the current Mojiko Station in the city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

A store clerk tries to cool things down in front of their shop by spraying a hose.
Is extreme weather changing the way Japan shops?
By Alex K.T. Martin

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