author

 
Menu
Search
 
April 05, 2025
 

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.
SOCCER
Dec 20, 2015
Barcelona cruises past River Plate to claim third Club World Cup title
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi recovered from illness to lead Barcelona to a record third Club World Cup title with a 3-0 win over River Plate in Sunday's final.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 19, 2015
River Plate, Barcelona confident, ready for Club World Cup final
River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo has invited Barcelona to hit his team with its best shot in Sunday's Club World Cup final — and believes it can withstand the one-two-three punch of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 18, 2015
Suarez puts on sublime show as Barcelona moves into final
Barcelona defender Jordi Alba hailed teammate Luis Suarez as "the most complete No. 9 in the world" after the Uruguayan's three-goal demolition of Guangzhou Evergrande on Thursday night put the Spanish giants into the Club World Cup final.
SOCCER
Dec 17, 2015
Suarez hat trick carries Barcelona into Club World Cup final
Luis Suarez shrugged off the absence of strike partners Lionel Messi and Neymar with a hat trick to send Barcelona into the Club World Cup final with a 3-0 win over China's Guangzhou Evergrande on Thursday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 16, 2015
Guangzhou ready for Barca
Guangzhou Evergrande manager Luiz Felipe Scolari admits that the absence of injured Barcelona superstar Neymar will make little difference to his team's chances of beating the European champions in Thursday's Club World Cup semifinal.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 10, 2015
Sanfrecce off to winning start at Club World Cup
Yusuke Minagawa and Tsukasa Shiotani scored either side of halftime as J. League champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat New Zealand part-timers Auckland City 2-0 on Thursday to kick off the Club World Cup.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 9, 2015
Jury still out on new J. League championship format
The J. League's new playoff format produced a worthy champion and a thrilling finale in its debut season, but only time will tell if it is a success.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 6, 2015
Sanfrecce turned pressure into advantage during championship final
Sanfrecce Hiroshima striker Hisato Sato admits that the fear of missing out on the 2015 J. League title after finishing the regular season on top of the table helped drive his side to the championship.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 5, 2015
Sanfrecce complete title quest against Gamba
Sanfrecce Hiroshima claimed their third J. League title in four years with a 4-3 aggregate win over Gamba Osaka after a 1-1 draw in the second leg of the championship final on Saturday night.
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 22, 2015
FC Tokyo eliminated from title contention
FC Tokyo crashed out of J. League title contention after a 0-0 home draw with Sagan Tosu on Sunday that put defending champions Gamba Osaka into the championship playoffs instead.
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2015
Tokyo must act now to build legacy for venues beyond 2020 Olympics, says London Games exec
Tokyo must act now to develop a vision for the new National Stadium and other Olympic venues that reaches decades beyond the 2020 Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2015
Style complements functionality at Shibuya exhibition of aids for disabled
A new design exhibition in Tokyo is aiming to give the public perception of disability a makeover by placing style at the top of the agenda.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Nov 11, 2015
Japan keen to work off frustration in World Cup qualifiers
Japan heads into this week's World Cup qualifiers only in second place in Group E, but Vahid Halilhodzic's side will be hungry to set the record straight against opponents Singapore and Cambodia.
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 7, 2015
Reds stifled in bid to take lead
Urawa Reds drew 1-1 with Kawasaki Frontale on Saturday to give Sanfrecce Hiroshima one hand on the J. League overall points title with one game of the regular season remaining.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2015
Hebocon a venue for low-tech, crude robots that personify their makers
A new robot revolution is threatening to take over the world — as long as the glue and tape hold together long enough.
Japan Times
Rugby
Nov 2, 2015
Jones signs off with plea for Japan to keep momentum
Outgoing national rugby team coach Eddie Jones bid farewell to Japan on Monday with a warning that the Brave Blossoms must keep winning to make the 2019 Rugby World Cup a success.
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 31, 2015
Antlers capture 6th Nabisco Cup
Kashima Antlers lit the touchpaper in the second half to beat Gamba Osaka 3-0 and win the Nabisco Cup for a record sixth time on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 24, 2015
Reds edge FC Tokyo
Urawa Reds stayed neck-and-neck with Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the race for the J. League overall points title after a rip-roaring 4-3 win over FC Tokyo on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 22, 2015
Fuji TV announces Japan-first lesbian drama, but attracts criticism for 'outdated' portrayal
Fuji Television has announced a drama series featuring a lesbian love story as its central theme — a first for Japan.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 21, 2015
Internal mistakes behind S-Pulse's fall from J1 ranks
Shimizu S-Pulse's proud uninterrupted record as a J. League first-division team came to an end last weekend, but after years of muddled leadership, the club has no one to blame but itself.
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.
3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan
A train station building (front) is assembled from parts printed using 3D printer technology, in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
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.
Tokyo’s KK Line to close for decadelong overhaul as public greenway
People enjoy running and yoga on Tokyo Expressway’s KK Line, a 2-kilometer elevated expressway cutting through the capital’s commercial Ginza district, when it was opened as a pedestrian space in May last year.
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).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
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.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER