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July 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
Dec 18, 2009
Okada unfazed by Nakamura's struggles in Spain
National team manager Takeshi Okada has reassured Shunsuke Nakamura that he will form the cornerstone of Japan's 2010 World Cup challenge despite failing to make an impact at Espanyol.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 17, 2009
Time to face up to reality with Nakamura's star on the wane
As national team manager Takeshi Okada runs the rule over the year gone by, he will have to face up to an uncomfortable but unavoidable truth — 2009 has not been kind to Shunsuke Nakamura.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 13, 2009
Yamazaki, Gamba spoil Antlers' Emperor's Cup aspirations
KASHIMA, Ibaraki Pref. — Gamba Osaka dashed Kashima Antlers' hopes of a league-and-cup double with a 2-1 win in the Emperor's Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Dec 10, 2009
Title win cements Antlers' spot in J. League history
Having won an unprecedented third straight championship at the weekend, the current Kashima Antlers side has earned the right to call itself the best the J. League has ever seen.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 7, 2009
Japan's World Cup group difficult, but not impossible
The World Cup draw could certainly have been kinder to Japan, but that is not to say Takeshi Okada's side is guaranteed to fall at the first hurdle next summer.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 6, 2009
Koroki-led Antlers capture third straight J. League title
SAITAMA — Shinzo Koroki struck with a 67th-minute diving header to give Kashima Antlers a tension-drenched 1-0 win over Urawa Reds and a record third consecutive J. League title on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 5, 2009
Frontale need help to capture first J. League title
KURIHIRA, Kanagawa Pref. — For Kawasaki Frontale goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, Saturday will either mark the greatest day of his club career or the latest in a long line of painful failures.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 29, 2009
Oliveira's Antlers move closer to another title
KASHIMA, Ibaraki Pref. — Kashima Antlers crushed title rivals Gamba Osaka 5-1 to take an emphatic step toward a record third consecutive championship on Saturday, but Kawasaki Frontale made sure the race will go down to the wire with a 1-0 win over Albirex Niigata.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 28, 2009
Franca leading Reysol's charge to avoid relegation
Kashima Antlers' attempts to clinch another J. League title will hog the limelight on Saturday, but not everyone's eyes will be focused on the top of the table.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 22, 2009
J. League title race heats up; Edmilson propels Reds past Jubilo
SAITAMA — Kashima Antlers and Gamba Osaka ramped up the pressure on Kawasaki Frontale in the J. League title race with wins on Saturday, while Urawa Reds salvaged some pride from a difficult season with a last-gasp 3-2 victory over Jubilo Iwata.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Nov 21, 2009
Frontale, Antlers, Gamba taking J. League title race down to wire
The 2009 J. League title race looked like it would turn into a cakewalk when Kashima Antlers stretched ahead of the pack earlier in the season, but history tells us nothing can ever be taken for granted.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Nov 12, 2009
Japan ready for dress rehearsal
National team manager Takeshi Okada was not impressed by the weakened squads Scotland and Togo rustled up for last month's friendlies, but motivation is hardly likely to be an issue for this weekend's opponent.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 10, 2009
Hasegawa concedes title as S-Pulse's season flatlines
KASHIWA, Chiba Pref. — Shimizu S-Pulse manager Kenta Hasegawa conceded defeat in the J. League title race after Sunday's 5-0 loss to Kashiwa Reysol, and admits his previously league-leading side will struggle to secure a berth in the Asian Champions League if it continues its wretched form.
Rugby
Nov 2, 2009
All Black McCaw predicts bright future for Japanese rugby
New Zealand captain Richie McCaw believes Japanese rugby can use Saturday's historic Bledisloe Cup match in Tokyo as a springboard to success, but warned improvements will not happen overnight.
Japan Times
Rugby
Nov 1, 2009
New Zealand completes season sweep of Australia
New Zealand maintained its stranglehold over Australia with a 32-19 win in Japan's first taste of the Bledisloe Cup on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Oct 29, 2009
Ghosts of past mistakes return as bad moon rises in Chiba
Barring a sequence of results too far-fetched for even the J. League, Chiba will play host to no first-division teams next season.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 25, 2009
Victory puts Antlers back in first place
KASHIMA, Ibaraki Pref. — Kashima Antlers nudged back in front in the J. League title race as the defending champions beat hapless JEF United Chiba 3-0 on Saturday to end their six-game winless slump.
SOCCER / World cup
Oct 16, 2009
Okada backs Okazaki to reach highest level
RIFU, Miyagi Pref. — National team manager Takeshi Okada believes Shinji Okazaki has all the tools to become a world-class striker after the Shimizu S-Pulse forward took his international tally to 14 goals in 18 games on Wednesday night.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Oct 15, 2009
Okazaki, Japan overwhelm Togo
Shinji Okazaki grabbed his second international hat trick in the space of a week as Japan put Togo to the sword with a 5-0 win on Wednesday.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Oct 14, 2009
Nothing holding Japan back against Togo
Two wins and eight goals might not sound like a false start to Japan's October three-match series, but Wednesday's friendly against Togo will be the first and last chance manager Takeshi Okada has to really let go of the hand brake.
Japan's population continues to fall even as foreign resident count rises
The number of residents in Tokyo as of Jan. 1 rose by 0.03% from a year before, data shows, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years, while the country's other 46 prefectures saw their populations continue to decline.
Ahead of the Olympics, Japan is still talking about the gymnast who won't be there
Japan's Shoko Miyata withdrew from the gymnastics team herself over her drinking and smoking, although it had already appeared as though the association was prepared to send her home from the team’s training camp in Monaco.
Yen melt-up nudges Japanese stocks into correction territory
Japanese stocks are down 10% from their July peak as the yen strengthens.
‘Crazy’ yen rally is at risk of shattering as soon as Wednesday
Some investors are warning that a yen rally is fragile, as was on show this week when the yen rapidly retraced an advance after Thursday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. economic growth figures.
Japan's average life expectancy rises for first time in three years
A decline in COVID-19-caused deaths likely helped boost the average life expectancy for Japanese men and women to rise for the first time in three years in 2023.
The Japanese Olympians looking to shine in Paris
Rim Nakamura, who is attempting to win Japan's first Olympic gold medal in cycling, will be one of the top Japanese athletes to watch at the Paris Games.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
Japan loses top spot on strongest passport list to Singapore
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018, before being dethroned by Singapore on the 2024 list.
Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan eyes gold — and the future — as Olympic men's soccer campaign begins
Japan midfielder Yu Hirakawa controls the ball during a match against the United States in Kansas City, Kansas, on June 11.

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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Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
By Alex K.T. Martin

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JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives

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