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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.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 11, 2017
Seasoned veterans in demand in J. League offseason
The J. League's new 10-year, ¥210 billion broadcasting deal may not have led to any big-name overseas signings just yet, but there has been plenty of action on the domestic transfer front as clubs retool for the coming season.
JAPAN / GEARING UP FOR THE GAMES
Jan 2, 2017
Tokyo 2020 Olympics will come and quickly go, but the legacy is all-important
The eyes of the world will be on Tokyo for more than just the 16 days that it hosts the 2020 Olympics.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2016
Tokyo Olympics organizers settle on price tag for 2020 Games, eye further cost-cutting
Tokyo Olympic organizers on Wednesday slapped a first official price tag of ¥1.6 to ¥1.8 trillion on the 2020 Games.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 21, 2016
Japan may have to wait for more Club World Cup heroics
Kashima Antlers showed how far Japanese soccer has come when they gave Real Madrid a mighty scare in the Club World Cup final last Sunday, but it may be some time before a J. League champion gets to take advantage of Japan hosting the tournament again.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 19, 2016
Antlers hold heads high after Club World Cup final near-miss against Real Madrid
Kashima Antlers manager Masatada Ishii hailed his team as an inspiration for the little guy after the J. League champions went down fighting 4-2 against Real Madrid in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 18, 2016
Ronaldo hat trick sends Real Madrid past Kashima in Club World Cup final
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick as Real Madrid shook off a monumental effort from Kashima Antlers to lift the Club World Cup with a 4-2 extra-time win in Sunday's final.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 17, 2016
Antlers aim for historic triumph over powerful Real Madrid in Club World Cup final
Kashima Antlers midfielder Gaku Shibasaki is ready to make dreams a reality by toppling mighty Real Madrid and lifting the Club World Cup when the two teams meet in Sunday's final.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 17, 2016
FIFA boss backs bigger World Cup
FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Saturday claimed there are "no down sides" to expanding the World Cup to 48 teams and "no taboos" in discussing changes to soccer's flagship competition.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 16, 2016
Zidane questions video reviews after Madrid's Club World Cup semifinal win
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane voiced concern that FIFA's new video review system "could cause confusion" after guiding his team to the Club World Cup final on Thursday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 15, 2016
Real Madrid blanks Club America, books spot in Club World Cup final
Real Madrid scored injury-time goals in each half to set up a Club World Cup final showdown with J. League champions Kashima Antlers after a 2-0 win over Mexico's Club America on Thursday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 14, 2016
Real Madrid focused on winning Club World Cup crown
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane believes four-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is capable of adding more awards to his bulging trophy cabinet and will prove it this week in Japan at the Club World Cup.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 8, 2016
Antlers' Kanazaki provides winning header against Auckland City in Club World Cup opener
Mu Kanazaki came off the bench to score an 88th-minute winner as J. League champions Kashima Antlers beat part-timers Auckland City 2-1 on Thursday to advance to the second round of the Club World Cup.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 7, 2016
Kashima's J. League title win a fitting end to flawed format
There was always a danger that the J. League's ill-fated introduction of a playoff championship format in 2015 would produce a deeply unsatisfying result somewhere down the line. Kashima Antlers' coronation as champions on Saturday night duly delivered it.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2016
Paris organizers confident they can avoid Tokyo's Olympic mess
The head of Paris' bid for the 2024 Olympics has branded Tokyo's original 2020 Games proposal "a fairy tale" and believes the French capital can avoid the kind of after-the-fact revisions bogging down Japan's organizers.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 4, 2016
Kashima lives up to championship pedigree by stunning Urawa for J. League crown
Kashima Antlers midfielder Gaku Shibasaki hailed his club's winning DNA after capturing a record eighth J. League title against Urawa Reds on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 3, 2016
Kanazaki's two-goal performance carries Antlers to title over shocked Reds
Kashima Antlers claimed their record eighth J. League title after coming from behind to stun Urawa Reds 2-1 in the championship final second leg on Saturday and win on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2016
Tokyo Olympic chiefs weigh private-sector venue funding
Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizers are entertaining the idea that venues built for the games could be financed and run by private-sector companies.
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 30, 2016
Urawa shakes off rust to claim advantage in J. League Championship final
Urawa Reds manager Mihailo Petrovic hailed his ring-rusty players for shaking off the cobwebs of almost a month on the sidelines to claim a 1-0 win over Kashima Antlers in the first leg of the J. League Championship final on Tuesday.
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 29, 2016
Reds prevail over Antlers in first leg of championship final
Urawa Reds moved a step closer to winning their first J. League title in a decade after beating Kashima Antlers 1-0 in the first leg of the championship final on Tuesday.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
Nov 23, 2016
Antlers reach J. League final
Mu Kanazaki struck in the 50th minute to send Kashima Antlers into the J. League Championship final against Urawa Reds with a 1-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale on Wednesday.
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’

Longform

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
By Johan Brooks

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