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April 01, 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
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2019
Support act: Behind every Japanese prime minister is a fascinating first lady
When Chizuko Obuchi's husband, Keizo, became prime minister of Japan in July 1998 and the couple moved into the official residence, she was taken aback by what she found.
Japan Times
Rugby
Apr 11, 2019
Wallabies icon George Gregan preaches value of preparation in quest for RWC title
George Gregan has experienced the full gamut of Rugby World Cup emotions, but the Australian legend knows what he is looking forward to most when Japan hosts the tournament later this year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2019
Pooches put their best paw forward at Japan International Dog Show
The event is the biggest dog show in Japan, with 2,201 canines representing 134 different breeds at this year's edition, which marks the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Japan Kennel Club.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2019
Tokyo Big Sight: Japan's biggest convention center all set for Olympic duty
One thing you notice pretty quickly when you spend some time attending events at Tokyo Big Sight is that there is a lot of esoteric language on display.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2019
Yamanote Line train driver fulfills life's dream, down to the exact second
Ask any group of children in Japan what they want to be when they grow up and one answer in particular is sure to feature.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2019
After almost a year behind the wheel, Tokyo's foreign cab drivers reflect on navigating a new way of life
Growing up in Canada, Alex Lipson never imagined he would one day become a taxi driver — especially not on the other side of the world in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 2, 2019
'No one wants to be homeless': A glimpse at life on the streets of Tokyo
Seventy-year-old Yoshitomo Hara now lives in a housing facility, but he is well-versed in strategies to deal with sleeping rough in Tokyo during winter.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 27, 2019
Episode 8: So you want to be a Japanese comedian?
What makes a quail's egg funnier than an ostrich's? Andrew McKirdy finds out with a little bit of help from professional manzai comedian Patrick Harlan. Hosted by Oscar Boyd.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 20, 2019
Heavy metal: Moonlighting knights and medieval swordplay in Tokyo
Jay Noyes, clad head to toe in the steel armor of a medieval knight, is steadily advancing toward me with a longsword, which he intends to hit me with.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2019
Olympic and Paralympic venues on track to be completed in time for summer test events
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic venues are on course to be completed in time for test events to be held there later this year, games organizers said Tuesday.
CULTURE
Feb 5, 2019
Game for a laugh: Learning to become a manzai comedian
As I stand in the cramped wooden gangway at the side of the stage, going over my lines in a frantic whisper, I am reminded of something that American comedian Patrick Harlan had told me when we first met four months ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 24, 2019
In smoker's paradise Japan, 81-year-old Bungaku Watanabe has spent decades leading a war on tobacco
"Is it OK if I smoke during the interview?" I ask Bungaku Watanabe, reaching into my coat pocket.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2018
An enthusiast of toy trains gives kids, young and old, a chance to play
Ten-year-old Koharu Yagi gazes at the meters and meters of plastic train track laid out in a room at the Plaza North culture center in the city of Saitama and lets out a sigh of wonder.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2018
NPO Fukuribi's wigs offer Japan's chemo patients new weapon in their fight against cancer
When TV celebrity Miki Yakata was told she would need chemotherapy after undergoing a mastectomy in April, she realized she would have to buy a wig.
Japan Times
Rugby
Dec 18, 2018
Volunteers audition for Rugby World Cup roles
Tokyo resident Masaru Seto knows why he wants to become a volunteer at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 8, 2018
Irasshaimase!: Foreign-born clerks are becoming a familiar sight at convenience stores nationwide, but is Japan ready to welcome them?
Phan Hoang Tu Linh feels she has gotten the hang of working in a Japanese convenience store now, but she admits she found it tough at first.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Dec 1, 2018
Top flight: Japan's drone racers are go!
The tranquility of a warm autumn morning in Chiba Prefecture is broken by three shapes streaking through the sky above a rugby field.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2018
Faced with Japan's changing habits and demographics, delivery firm Sagawa looks to diversify
Sagawa delivery driver Keisuke Kawabe has seen the video that went viral on the internet two years ago of one of his colleagues smashing up parcels out of frustration that the customer wasn't home, and he doesn't approve.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2018
Pole dancing sheds seedy image to climb to new heights
Sixty-three-year-old Kiyoshi Ikehara mops his bald head with a towel, wipes his hands and grips the vertical pole.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2018
Humans and nature coexist in Ramsar-recognized wetlands — in the heart of Tokyo
A flock of great crested grebes floats on the sea, gently bobbing up and down under the warm November sun.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
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.
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.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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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