author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 22, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Andrew MCKIRDY

Meta

Twitter

@Andrew_McKirdy

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 / SOCCER SCENE
Oct 5, 2016
Match-rusty Japan left with little margin for error in qualifiers
National team manager Vahid Halilhodzic last week bridled at suggestions that he is making excuses for Japan's underwhelming start to the final round of 2018 World Cup qualifiers. But there will be no place to hide if the Samurai Blue slip further off the pace after games against Iraq and Australia over...
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 2, 2016
Reds stroll past Gamba
Urawa Reds moved top of the overall J. League table and exorcized a few demons along the way with a 4-0 win over Gamba Osaka on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 28, 2016
Second-stage title hopefuls battling for playoff berth
Kawasaki Frontale and Urawa Reds joined Kashima Antlers in clinching a place in the J. League Championship last Sunday, but this weekend's action will go a long way toward deciding if any more teams join them.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Sep 25, 2016
Wozniacki halts Osaka's run in Pan Pacific Open final
Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki denied teenage sensation Naomi Osaka her first title on the WTA Tour with a 7-5, 6-3 win in the Pan Pacific Open final on Sunday.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Sep 23, 2016
Osaka bests Sasnovich, advances to semifinals
Rising teenage star Naomi Osaka reached her first-ever semifinal on the WTA Tour after conquering her demons in a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win over Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich at the Pan Pacific Open on Friday.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Sep 21, 2016
Overpowering Osaka eliminates Cibulkova
Teenage sensation Naomi Osaka claimed her biggest scalp to date after beating world No. 12 Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 20, 2016
J. League chairman denies single-stage return a done deal
J. League chairman Mitsuru Murai on Tuesday denied that the league has already decided to return to a single-stage format from next season but confirmed that the idea is under consideration.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 17, 2016
Reds rally past FC Tokyo, reduce Frontale's lead at top of table
Urawa Reds cut Kawasaki Frontale's lead at the top of the overall J. League table to two points after coming from behind to beat FC Tokyo 3-1 on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 10, 2016
Reysol ease past struggling Antlers
Kashiwa Reysol heaped further pressure on Kashima Antlers and beleaguered manager Masatada Ishii with a 2-0 win over the first-stage champions on Saturday.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 5, 2016
Joseph digs in for long haul after taking Japan reins
New Japan national rugby team head coach Jamie Joseph has warned fans to expect pain before pleasure as he builds toward the 2019 World Cup on home soil.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 2, 2016
Honda slams referee after 'ghost goal' haunts Japan's loss to UAE
Japan forward Keisuke Honda once again issued a damning verdict on the standard of Asia's referees after the Samurai Blue were denied a seemingly legitimate goal in Thursday's 2-1 World Cup-qualifying loss to the United Arab Emirates.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Sep 1, 2016
UAE capitalizes on Japan's miscues to secure victory
Japan's bid to reach a sixth straight World Cup suffered a damaging early blow with a 2-1 defeat to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday night.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Aug 31, 2016
Little margin for error as Japan aims for 2018 World Cup spot
After a year and a half of shadow boxing, national team manager Vahid Halilhodzic finally gets to taste some meaningful action when Japan begins the final round of Asian qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup against the United Arab Emirates on Thursday night.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 30, 2016
Japan's judo gold medalists praise country's efforts with eye on 2020 Games
Japan's Rio Olympic judo gold medalists believe their country has reclaimed its rightful place as the sport's world No. 1, but warned the pressure to succeed at the 2020 Tokyo Games will be enormous.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC VIEW
Aug 23, 2016
Despite hosting worries, Rio served up excitement, drama, service with a smile
What happens to Rio de Janeiro now that the 2016 Olympics have finished remains to be seen, but there was no denying the quality and drama of the past three weeks of competition.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 22, 2016
Rio passes Olympic flag to Tokyo, 'Super Abe' during closing ceremony
Tokyo took center stage as Rio de Janeiro handed over the Olympic flag to the 2020 host city at a rain-lashed but joyous closing ceremony for the Rio Games on Sunday.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 22, 2016
Japanese Olympic Committee hails record medal haul, states case for more funding
The Japanese Olympic Committee cast a satisfied eye over its biggest-ever Olympic medal haul at the Rio Games on Sunday but warned money must be spent to perform even better at Tokyo 2020.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 21, 2016
Brazil beats Germany on penalties to win first-ever Olympic soccer gold
Host nation Brazil — the most successful country in soccer history — finally claimed its first-ever Olympic gold medal in the sport after beating Germany 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Saturday's men's final at the Rio Games.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC VIEW
Aug 21, 2016
Bolt ascends to true greatness with 'triple-triple' Olympic haul
"More than the greatest" was how Yohan Blake described his Jamaican teammate Usain Bolt after Friday night’s 4×100-meter relay final at the Rio Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2016
Koike, Tokyo 2020 chiefs promise not to leave 'white elephants'
New Tokyo governor, 2020 Olympic organizers vow not to saddle taxpayers with venues that cannot be reused following games.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER