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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
WORLD
Aug 8, 2016
Brazilians divided but upbeat as Olympics arrive
Rio de Janeiro's hosting of the 2016 Olympics has divided public opinion in Brazil, where political and economic crises have put the games under scrutiny like never before.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 8, 2016
Japan misses judo gold again as Ebinuma, Nakamura take bronze
Japan failed to claim judo gold at the Rio Olympics for the second straight day as Masashi Ebinuma and Masato Nakamura both had to settle for bronze medals on Sunday.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 7, 2016
Hagino earns Japan’s first Rio Games gold with victory in 400-meter individual medley
Kosuke Hagino held off a late challenge from American Chase Kalisz to win Japan's first gold medal of the 2016 Rio Olympics in the men's 400-meter individual medley on Saturday.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 7, 2016
Judoka Kondo wins Japan's first medal of Rio Games
Ami Kondo won Japan's first medal of the 2016 Rio Olympics when she beat Mongolia's Urantsetseg Munkhbat to claim bronze in the women's 48-kg judo competition on Saturday.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 7, 2016
Nishikori thrills Rio crowd in Olympic opening victory
Kei Nishikori made himself an instant fan favorite with the Rio de Janeiro crowd after starting his Olympic campaign with a flamboyant 6-2, 6-4 win over Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Saturday.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 6, 2016
Rio Olympics open with ceremony focused on environment
Rio de Janeiro opened South America's first-ever Olympic Games on Friday with a pared-down ceremony that put the environment to the forefront and celebrated Brazil's rich and diverse culture.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 6, 2016
Rugby chiefs expecting Japan-style boom after Rio Olympic sevens
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont believes the Rio Olympic sevens tournament can be the catalyst for emerging nations to follow Japan's lead and embrace the sport of rugby.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 5, 2016
Ready or not, the Rio Games set to begin
All eyes will turn to Rio de Janeiro on Friday when it opens South America's first Olympic Games against a backdrop of political and economic crises off the sporting field and doping scandals on it.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 5, 2016
Zen-focused Hagino ready to deliver Japan's first gold of Rio Games
Swim star Kosuke Hagino believes he is ready to end years of American Olympic dominance as he bids to get Japan off to a golden start at the Rio Games this weekend.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 4, 2016
Baseball set for return as IOC approves five sports for Tokyo Olympics
Japan will aim to win Olympic baseball gold on home soil after the sport was formally approved for inclusion at the 2020 Tokyo Games along with four other events on Wednesday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 30, 2016
Free-falling Grampus' winless streak reaches 14 games
Nagoya Grampus slipped further into relegation trouble after a 0-0 draw with Yokohama F. Marinos on Saturday that extended the 2010 J. League champions' winless streak to 14 games.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jul 27, 2016
Tokyo facing uncertain time after managerial change
A season that promised much has turned badly sour for FC Tokyo, and the firing of manager Hiroshi Jofuku may not be enough to stop the rot.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 23, 2016
Frontale's Kobayashi notches winning goal in 81st minute against FC Tokyo
Yu Kobayashi scored for a fifth straight game to give Kawasaki Frontale a 1-0 win over FC Tokyo on Saturday and open up a five-point lead at the top of the overall J. League table.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 20, 2016
Japan badminton team ready to escape gambling shadow in Rio
The head coach of Japan's Olympic badminton team insists the gambling scandal that engulfed the sport three months ago will not cast a shadow over his squad at next month's Rio Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Jul 17, 2016
Kuma confident about National Stadium's prospects ahead of 2020 Games, clears up gripes about design
When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scrapped Zaha Hadid's design for the new National Stadium on July 17 last year, many feared the venue might not be completed in time to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jul 6, 2016
Many pitfalls ahead for Japan's medal bid at Rio Olympics
Japan Olympic team manager Makoto Teguramori believes his side is capable of winning gold at this summer's Rio Games, but there are too many factors clouding the water to predict anything for certain.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 3, 2016
Uchimura determined to lead Japan to team gold in Rio
If the pressure to lead Japan back to Olympic team glory at this summer's Rio Games is weighing heavily on Kohei Uchimura's muscular shoulders, the gymnastics superstar does well to hide it.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jul 1, 2016
Teguramori confident about Japan's medal chances in Rio
Japan Olympic men's soccer team manager Makoto Teguramori set his sights on the gold medal as he announced his 18-man squad for the Rio Games on Friday.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jun 30, 2016
Kyoto selected to host draw for 2019 Rugby World Cup
Kyoto will host the draw for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in May next year, tournament organizers announced on Thursday.
Japan Times
Rugby
Jun 26, 2016
Japan looks to future after narrow defeat to Scotland
Japan back-row forward Amanaki Lelei Mafi admits that the absence of injured Rugby World Cup stars including Ayumu Goromaru and Michael Leitch hurt the Brave Blossoms in their two test-match defeats to Scotland.
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’

Longform

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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