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April 05, 2025
 

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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 / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 27, 2013
Zaccheroni feels heat for first time after early exit from Brazil
Alberto Zaccheroni has enjoyed an exceptionally smooth first three years as national team manager, but after coming in for widespread criticism in the wake of Japan's early exit from the Confederations Cup, the Italian can expect a bumpy ride before the World Cup begins next summer.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 23, 2013
Yokohama defender Dutra turning back time as he nears 40
Yokohama F. Marinos left-back Dutra will celebrate his 40th birthday before the current J. League season is over, but that does not mean he intends to shift down a gear anytime soon.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 20, 2013
Japan looking for Italian tonic after poor display against Brazil
Japan's humbling defeat to Brazil in the opening game of the Confederations Cup last weekend was a bitter pill to swallow, but that does not mean Alberto Zaccheroni's side cannot get its campaign back on track against Italy on Wednesday.
SOCCER
Jun 9, 2013
Baggio impressed by Japan's progress
Italian soccer legend Roberto Baggio has paid tribute to the strides Japan has made under manager Alberto Zaccheroni, but the former FIFA World Player of the Year has warned his compatriot not to expect an easy ride at this month's Confederations Cup.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jun 6, 2013
Zaccheroni relieved after deciding against Honda switch
National team manager Alberto Zaccheroni admits he was thinking about substituting Keisuke Honda shortly before the star forward booked Japan's ticket to the 2014 World Cup with a 91st-minute penalty in Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Australia.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 5, 2013
Japan becomes first to qualify for World Cup after Honda equalizer
Keisuke Honda scores a dramatic injury-time penalty to book Japan's place at the 2014 World Cup after a breathless 1-1 draw with Australia on Tuesday night.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 4, 2013
Japan not looking past Australia with qualification in sight
Japan hopes to secure its place in the 2014 World Cup on home soil.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Jun 2, 2013
Cahill says Australia to play physical
Australia midfielder Tim Cahill has warned Japan to expect a bruising physical encounter in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier if the Socceroos find themselves needing a goal to keep their hopes of reaching Brazil alive.
SOCCER
May 30, 2013
Troussier urges Japan to clinch World Cup spot in style
Former national team manager Philippe Troussier has warned Japan not to sit back and play for the single point it needs to secure a place at a fifth straight World Cup in next Tuesday's qualifier against Australia.
SOCCER / J. League
May 26, 2013
Sanfrecce rack up third straight victory
Sanfrecce Hiroshima stepped up the defense of their J. League title with a comfortable 2-0 win over Shonan Bellmare on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
May 25, 2013
Moriwaki enjoying challenge playing for Urawa brings
The 27-year-old defender says he was ready for a change of scenery after helping Sanfrecce Hiroshima win theJ. League title last season.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
May 23, 2013
Kagawa can become United star despite frustrating first season
Shinji Kagawa's debut season at Manchester United was a quiet one, but if luck goes his way the forward can play a major role for the Premier League champions next term.
SOCCER / J. League
May 16, 2013
Kawabuchi reflects on two decades of J. League action
Saburo Kawabuchi, the J. League's first chairman, looks back at the history of the league he helped create 20 years ago.
SOCCER / J. League
May 13, 2013
J. League's opening game stirs memories 20 years on
Players involved in the J. League's first-ever game share their recollections of the beginning of a new era for Japanese soccer.
SOCCER / J. League
May 12, 2013
Reds rally past Antlers as J. League celebrates 20 years
Shinzo Koroki punished his former teammates with a hotly disputed goal as Urawa Reds came from behind to beat Kashima Antlers 3-1 on Saturday night.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 9, 2013
Fans, players show class in reaction to serious accident
A serious accident that left two players in the hospital may have cast a pall over Monday's match between Omiya Ardija and Sanfrecce Hiroshima, but the reaction of both sets of fans and players was a credit to the Japanese game.
SOCCER / J. League
May 6, 2013
Reysol striker Kudo targets success at home and abroad
Kashiwa Reysol striker Masato Kudo admits his No. 1 target for the season is to win the Asian Champions League, but that does not mean he is about to give up on the J. League title.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 28, 2013
Aoyama gives Ventforet draw against Marinos
Naoaki Aoyama equalized with the last attack of the game to snatch a point for Ventforet Kofu and deny Yokohama F. Marinos a return to the top of the J.League table with a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 25, 2013
Ardija not prepared to fade from memory after day in sun
Omiya Ardija took center stage last Saturday after setting a new J. League record for consecutive unbeaten games, but the unheralded Saitama side can expect plenty more attention if it manages to maintain its impressive start to the season.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 21, 2013
Ardija establish J.League record for consecutive unbeaten games
Omiya Ardija set a new J.League record for consecutive unbeaten games in the sweetest way possible on Saturday, beating fierce local rivals Urawa Reds 1-0 to extend their streak to 18.
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’

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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
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