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April 04, 2025
 

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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
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Mar 20, 2017
Let's discuss the Tokyo 2020 Cultural Olympiad
Japan's celebration of culture leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will 'deliver something inspiring for the people of Japan and the whole world,' says the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Director.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 20, 2017
DAZN chief admits errors, sees bright future for J. League
The chief executive of sports streaming service DAZN insists the problems that plagued the much-trumpeted launch of its J. League coverage have been fixed, and remains confident that it can revolutionize the way that Japanese fans watch sports.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 18, 2017
FC Tokyo's Okubo provides final goal in dramatic triumph over former club Frontale
Yoshito Okubo scored against his former club as FC Tokyo lit the touch paper late in the second half to beat Kawasaki Frontale 3-0 on Saturday night.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 11, 2017
Newcomer Nakamura notches first goal in Jubilo's first victory of season
Shunsuke Nakamura scored a trademark free kick and Kengo Kawamata also hit the target as Jubilo Iwata beat Omiya Ardija 2-1 on Saturday to claim their first win of the J. League season.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2017
Japan will deliver big during Tokyo 2020 Cultural Olympiad, London Games official says
Japan's celebration of culture leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will "deliver something inspiring for the people of Japan and the whole world," according to London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Director Ruth Mackenzie.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 8, 2017
Perfect starts to season put wind in four teams' sails
The J. League's return to a single-league format will make this season's championship more of a marathon than a sprint, but four teams have already got off to flying starts after their opening two games.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 4, 2017
Reds bounce back against Cerezo
Urawa Reds picked up their first points of the new J. League season with a 3-1 win over Cerezo Osaka on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2017
Private country club must equalize membership rules to host Olympic golf competition: IOC
Kasumigaseki Country Club will be stripped of hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympic golf tournament if it does not allow women to become full members, the International Olympic Committee warned on Thursday.
Japan Times
Rugby
Feb 25, 2017
Sunwolves crushed in Super Rugby opener
The Sunwolves were handed a rude welcome to their second Super Rugby season with an 83-17 thrashing by the defending champion Hurricanes on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 24, 2017
Antlers looking to defend J. League crown
The following is second of a two-part preview for the upcoming J. League season. Team-by-team previews of the nine highest-ranking teams competing in the first division are listed.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 23, 2017
Cerezo target J. League upset
The following is the first of a two-part preview for the upcoming J. League season. Team-by-team previews of the nine lowest-ranking teams competing in the first division are listed.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 22, 2017
Antlers enter new campaign hungry for more success
Kashima Antlers' phenomenal end to last season has whetted, not sated, their appetite for more success, insists manager Masatada Ishii.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 21, 2017
Okubo eager to ignite offense, make impact for FC Tokyo
New FC Tokyo striker Yoshito Okubo admits that he feels "anxious" unless he is scoring goals, but the capital city club will be hoping to see him unwind over the coming J. League season as it goes in search of its first title.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 20, 2017
Vissel aiming for the stars with or without Podolski
Vissel Kobe's reported summer move for former Germany striker Lukas Podolski has made global headlines, but manager Nelsinho believes the players already at the club can lay the foundations for a J. League title challenge this season.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 19, 2017
Urawa determined to turn 'moral victory' into real triumph
Urawa Reds manager Mihailo Petrovic has vowed to use the pain of last season's J. League championship collapse to fuel his players' fire in 2017, but still believes his team was last year's "moral winner."
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 18, 2017
Suzuki leads Antlers past Reds in Fuji Xerox Super Cup
Substitute Yuma Suzuki scored an 83rd-minute winner as J. League champions Kashima Antlers maintained their dominance over Urawa Reds with a 3-2 victory in the Fuji Xerox Super Cup on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2017
Tokyo Olympic chiefs call on public to recycle smartphones to make medals
Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic organizers are urging people living in Japan to help make the medals for the games by donating their discarded smartphones for recycling.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 24, 2017
Japan Golf Council urges new Olympic venue over female membership ban
The Japan Golf Council urges Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizers to move the event's golf competition away from a country club in Saitama Prefecture, even if the venue changes its rules and allows women to become full members.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jan 19, 2017
Joseph urges Japan to look toward future, forget 2015
Japan rugby head coach Jamie Joseph on Thursday urged the Brave Blossoms to forget about their 2015 World Cup heroics and focus on rebuilding for the 2019 tournament on home soil.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jan 15, 2017
Rugby star Pocock preparing to swap Japan for African wilderness
Australian rugby star David Pocock has enjoyed locking horns with the big beasts of Japan's Top League since joining the Panasonic Wild Knights in December.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

Podcast

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

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Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
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