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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
SOCCER / World cup
May 27, 2014
Uchida goal gives Japan victory over Cyprus in World Cup send-off
Atsuto Uchida scored two minutes before halftime to give Japan a 1-0 win over Cyprus on Tuesday in the Blue Samurai's last home game before heading off to the World Cup in Brazil.
Japan Times
Rugby
May 25, 2014
Japan punches ticket to Rugby World Cup in final sporting event at national stadium
Japan booked its place at the 2015 Rugby World Cup with a 49-8 win over Hong Kong on Sunday in the final sporting event at National Stadium before it is demolished and rebuilt to stage the 2020 Olympics.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
May 25, 2014
Murofushi urges Japanese athletes to expand horizons in preparation for 2020 Games
Former Olympic hammer champion Koji Murofushi has urged Japan's athletes to embrace the pressure of the 2020 Tokyo Games and end the country's track and field gold drought.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 21, 2014
Solid base puts Urawa top at break
There is no prize for heading into the J. League's World Cup shutdown in first place, but Urawa Reds can at least savor the view from the top of the table for the next two months.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 17, 2014
Sekine strike helps Reds sink Cerezo
Teenager Takahiro Sekine scored seven minutes after coming on as a substitute to send Urawa Reds into the J. League summer break on top of the table after a 1-0 win over Cerezo Osaka on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
May 14, 2014
Zaccheroni sticks to his guns despite surprise Okubo choice
Yoshito Okubo's dramatic World Cup recall may have grabbed the headlines when national team manager Alberto Zaccheroni unveiled his squad for Brazil on Monday, but the Italian's final roster was anything but impulsive.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
May 12, 2014
Zaccheroni chooses Okubo for World Cup
Striker Yoshito Okubo claimed a place in Japan's World Cup squad after more than two years in the international wilderness as manager Alberto Zaccheroni named his 23-man selection on Monday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 3, 2014
Kudo goal gives Reysol triumph over Antlers
Masato Kudo scored on the stroke of halftime as Kashiwa Reysol scalped J. League leaders Kashima Antlers 1-0 on Saturday to pick up their third straight win.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Apr 30, 2014
World Cup squad shaping up as Zaccheroni weighs options
With national team manager Alberto Zaccheroni set to name his World Cup squad on May 12, Soccer Scene takes a look at the candidates. Names in bold are those predicted to make the final 23-man roster:
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 29, 2014
Nagoya ends losing streak with victory over FC Tokyo
Kisho Yano scored three minutes into the second half to give Nagoya Grampus a 1-0 win over FC Tokyo on Tuesday and end a run of five straight defeats.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 28, 2014
Tokyo's Morishige too focused to dream of World Cup
FC Tokyo defender Masato Morishige insists he has no time to dream of World Cup glory with the capital-city club still adapting to life under new manager Massimo Ficcadenti.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 26, 2014
Reysol win on last-gasp strike
Junya Tanaka scored with a thunderbolt in the third and final minute of injury time to give Kashiwa Reysol a 3-2 win over Urawa Reds on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 23, 2014
Strong start sees new-look Vissel avoid past mistakes
Past disappointments may have persuaded Vissel Kobe fans to temper their expectations when the club unveiled its latest signings over the offseason, but Saturday's table-topping win over Kashima Antlers has surely prompted a rethink.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 19, 2014
Vissel edge Antlers
Vissel Kobe went top of the J. League for at least 24 hours after an incident-packed 3-2 win over Kashima Antlers on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Apr 15, 2014
Saito ignites Marinos with two rapid-fire goals in second half
Manabu Saito dragged Yokohama F. Marinos' Asian Champions League challenge back from the dead with two goals in the space of a minute in a 2-1 win over Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Tuesday night.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 9, 2014
Reinvigorated Antlers looking to rule J. League again
It has been a few years since Kashima Antlers could rightly be described as the team to beat in the J. League, but this season's early form suggests the seven-time champions are fast recovering their old aura.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 6, 2014
Kashiwa outclasses Cerezo's stars
Kashiwa Reysol gave Cerezo Osaka's much-vaunted strike force a lesson in clinical finishing with a 2-1 win over the preseason J. League title favorites on Sunday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 29, 2014
Antlers rally for win
Kashima Antlers came from behind to beat Yokohama F . Marinos 3-1 on Saturday as the J. League's early front-runners went head to head.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 24, 2014
Players push for more action against racism scourge
Urawa Reds striker Tadanari Lee has urged Japanese soccer to follow the Premier League's zero-tolerance attitude toward racism after taking part in the first J. League game to be played behind doors.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 23, 2014
Urawa, Shimizu play to draw in silent Saitama Stadium
Urawa Reds drew 1-1 with Shimizu S-Pulse on Sunday in the first J. League game to be played behind closed doors, as punishment for a discriminatory banner hung by Urawa fans earlier this month.
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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