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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
Rugby
Sep 18, 2014
Japan coach Jones says team sets target of reaching 2015 Rugby World Cup quarterfinals
National rugby team head coach Eddie Jones believes Japan can reach the quarterfinals of next year's Rugby World Cup by flummoxing the opposition with "samurai eyes and ninja bodies."
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Sep 15, 2014
Kagawa capable of making most of fresh start at Dortmund
It cannot have been easy for Shinji Kagawa to leave Manchester United, but if his performance in his first game since returning to Borussia Dortmund is anything to go by, the move is definitely in his best interests.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 10, 2014
Aguirre urges Samurai Blue to play with more imagination
National team manager Javier Aguirre has urged his players to think for themselves after watching his new side fail to register a win in his first two games in charge.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 10, 2014
Aguirre urges Japan to play with more imagination
National team manager Javier Aguirre has urged his players to think for themselves after watching his new side fail to register a win in his first two games in charge.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 9, 2014
Japan squanders lead twice in draw with Venezuela
Japan twice took the lead but failed to deliver a first win for new manager Javier Aguirre in a 2-2 friendly draw with Venezuela on Tuesday night.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Sep 3, 2014
Aguirre ready to start work rebuilding Japan from scratch
Japan begins a new era on Friday night as manager Javier Aguirre leads the team out for the first time, and if first impressions of the Mexican are anything to go by, the next four years should be an interesting journey.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Aug 30, 2014
Reds trounce Ardija, increase lead atop J. League table
J. League front-runners Urawa Reds thrashed relegation-threatened local rivals Omiya Ardija 4-0 on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Aug 28, 2014
Aguirre shakes up Japan national squad lineup for upcoming friendlies
New national team manager Javier Aguirre warned Japan's World Cup flops that their reputations will count for nothing as he named his first squad on Thursday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 31, 2014
Star Neymar eager to shine in upcoming season
Brazil and Barcelona star Neymar insists he has almost recovered from the injury that ended his World Cup dream, and is raring to go for the new club season.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Jul 27, 2014
Reds surrender first goal in 660 minutes in draw with Antlers
Urawa Reds saw their record run of clean sheets come to an end but stayed on top the J. League table after a 1-1 draw with Kashima Antlers on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 25, 2014
Nishimura doesn't dwell on World Cup controversy
World Cup referee Yuichi Nishimura has shrugged off the controversy that surrounded his decision to award Brazil a penalty in the tournament's opening game, but admitted that being a referee is no easy task.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jul 24, 2014
Aguirre confirmed as Japan's next manager
The Japan Football Association on Thursday officially named Mexican Javier Aguirre as Japan's new national team manager.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jul 21, 2014
Return from shutdown helps to forget World Cup woes
The return of J. League action is unlikely to ease the disappointment for soccer fans still sore from Japan's dismal World Cup showing, but a glut of goals as the league resumed in full on Saturday at least provided a welcome distraction.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 26, 2014
Results show Japan still far from ready for prime time
There are few if any positives to take from Japan's hugely disappointing World Cup campaign, but the team must make sure that the lessons of Brazil do not go unheeded.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 21, 2014
Drab draw leaves Japan hoping for miracles
"Believe in miracles," ran the headline of one sports newspaper after Japan's 0-0 draw with Greece left its World Cup hopes hanging by a thread, but simply salvaging pride from a bitterly disappointing campaign looks a more realistic ambition.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 18, 2014
Japan facing early exit if mistakes go unheeded against Greece
Japan must beat Greece on Thursday to stand any realistic chance of surviving at the World Cup, but a repeat of Saturday's performance in a frustrating defeat to Cote d'Ivoire will bring nothing but an early ticket home.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 11, 2014
Japan ready to make experience count at fifth World Cup
Japanese soccer can be rightfully proud of the progress it has made as the national team prepares to begin its fifth straight World Cup campaign, but no one in the squad will be happy just to take part.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 10, 2014
Brazil ready to take on world's best on home turf
The World Cup kicks off on Thursday (Friday, Japan time) in the country that has won the tournament more times than any other — Brazil. Thirty-two teams will compete over the next month for a place in the final at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium on July 13.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 4, 2014
Comeback win lifts confidence as Japan prepares for Brazil
National team manager Alberto Zaccheroni was looking for improvement in his players' physical condition in Monday's friendly against Costa Rica, but the mental boost they received from their 3-1 win could turn out to be even more important.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
May 28, 2014
Zaccheroni insists Japan will hit stride at World Cup
National team manager Alberto Zaccheroni is confident his side can shape up in time for the World Cup but admits the Blue Samurai are currently running on empty.
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.
Paris Olympics kick off with rain-soaked — but grandiose — opening ceremony
Japan's 2024 Olympic team moves down the Seine River in Paris during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics on Friday.
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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JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives

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