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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
Dec 19, 2011
Barca confirms superiority with triumph over Santos
Barcelona became world champions for the second time after blowing Santos away with a 4-0 masterclass in the Club World Cup final on Sunday night.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 18, 2011
Santos ready for duel against mighty Barca
Santos manager Muricy Ramalho has vowed to stand up to Barcelona and fight fire with fire in the Club World Cup final on Sunday night.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 17, 2011
Barcelona inspired to claim title as tribute to injured Villa
Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has vowed to overcome the loss of David Villa and win the Club World Cup after the striker broke his shinbone in Thursday's semifinal victory over Al Sadd.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 16, 2011
Barcelona crushes Al Sadd
Barcelona set up a Club World Cup final showdown with Santos after picking a way through the massed ranks of Al Sadd's defense to claim a 4-0 win on Thursday night.
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 14, 2011
Barcelona prepares for tough foe in semifinal
Barcelona midfielder Javier Mascherano is expecting a hard physical battle against Qatari side Al Sadd in Thursday's Club World Cup semifinal, but the Argentine insists his team has no plans to deviate from the fast-passing style that has brought it so much success in recent years.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 13, 2011
Barcelona wary of jet lag after touching down in Japan
Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has urged his players to fight through jet lag and become world champions for a second time at the Club World Cup in Japan this week.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 8, 2011
Reysol ready to take on world after shock title
It would have taken a brave person to tip Kashiwa Reysol for the 2011 J. League title before the season had begun. But as the newly crowned champions prepare to take on Auckland City in the Club World Cup on Thursday, it would take an even braver person to deny they deserved it.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 4, 2011
Reysol complete storybook season
Kashiwa Reysol captured their first-ever J. League title just a year after winning the second division with a 3-1 victory over Urawa Reds on the final day of the season on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 27, 2011
Reysol stay on course to earn J. League title
J. League front-runners Kashiwa Reysol fought back from a goal down to keep their title destiny in their own hands going into the final week of the season with a 1-1 draw with Cerezo Osaka on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 24, 2011
Weekend fightback gives Reysol one hand on league title
Nagoya Grampus will fight to the last breath to defend their J. League title, but there can be little doubt now that the 2011 championship is Kashiwa Reysol's to lose.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Nov 10, 2011
Home comforts in short supply as Japan aims for final round
Tajikistan and North Korea might not be the strongest of opponents, but conditions away from home will certainly make Japan's bid to secure an early place in the final round of World Cup qualifiers difficult over the coming week.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 4, 2011
Reysol, two rivals still in hunt for title
Kashiwa Reysol kept their noses in front in the J. League title race with a 4-0 win over Albirex Niigata on Thursday as all three championship contenders claimed victories going into the final three games of the season.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 3, 2011
Everything to play for as three-way title race gets serious
Nagoya Grampus won the J. League title a full 10 points ahead of second-place Gamba Osaka last season, but as the 2011 campaign enters the final stretch, the situation is anything but cut and dried.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 30, 2011
Antlers edge Reds in final
Kashima Antlers came through a tense war of attrition to beat Urawa Reds 1-0 after extra time and win the Nabisco Cup for a record fourth time on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 29, 2011
Yamada hoping Nabisco final can spark Reds' survival
Urawa Reds head into Saturday's Nabisco Cup final against Kashima Antlers looking for a rare moment of joy in an otherwise troubled season, but midfielder Naoki Yamada admits the specter of relegation is casting a large shadow over the occasion.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Oct 23, 2011
Pele's message of solidarity in Tohoku
In world sports, there are few names more iconic than that of Brazilian soccer legend Pele.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 23, 2011
Stojkovic works magic with late-game changes
Defending J. League champions Nagoya Grampus dug deep to beat Omiya Ardija 3-2 on Saturday and keep themselves firmly in the title shakeup going into the final four games of the season.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 16, 2011
Struggling Urawa falls into relegation zone
J. League heavyweights Urawa Reds slipped into the relegation places with five matches remaining after a 1-0 derby-day defeat to Omiya Ardija on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Oct 13, 2011
Kagawa heads back to Germany with confidence restored
Out-of-sorts Borussia Dortmund star Shinji Kagawa hopes to turn his stuttering season around after hailing his two-goal contribution to Japan's 8-0 rout of Tajikistan as a psychological breakthrough.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Oct 12, 2011
Havenaar, Japan pulverize Tajikistan in 2014 World Cup qualifier
Japan found its scoring touch to thrash Tajikistan 8-0 on Tuesday and stay on course for a place in the final qualifying round for the 2014 World Cup.
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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JNTO promotes sustainable tourism initiatives

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