author

 
Menu
Search
 
April 04, 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 / J. League
Jun 25, 2011
Yamase says Frontale coming together after changes
After the upheaval of an offseason transfer to Kawasaki Frontale, Koji Yamase is happy to see his new team occupy familiar ground near the top of the J. League table.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 23, 2011
Gamba earns pulsating victory over league-leading Reysol
Gamba Osaka cut Kashiwa Reysol's cushion at the top of the J. League to one point with a breathless 4-2 win over the league leaders on Wednesday night.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 19, 2011
Bosnar's training pays dividends in victory over Reds
Eddy Bosnar struck a pair of thunderbolt free kicks and Naohiro Takahara returned to haunt his former team as Shimizu S-Pulse beat Urawa Reds 3-1 on Saturday night to keep the 2006 J. League champions mired near the foot of the table.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jun 18, 2011
Reysol, Vegalta continue to impress in season of unpredictability
An impressive start from the less-fancied teams while the big guns struggled gave the early J. League table something of an upside-down appearance. Few expected it to last, but with almost a third of the season played, the underdogs continue to bark the loudest.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 16, 2011
Maeda strikes twice in Jubilo's rout over Kashiwa Reysol
Jubilo Iwata brought Kashiwa Reysol crashing back to earth with a comprehensive 3-0 thrashing of the J. League leaders on Wednesday night.
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 12, 2011
Kashiwa Reysol display impressive form in triumph over F. Marinos
J. League leader Kashiwa Reysol gave another example of their growing championship credentials with a comfortable 2-0 win over Yokohama F.Marinos on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 9, 2011
Zaccheroni files new formation away after successful test
National team manager Alberto Zaccheroni insists he will not remain slavishly wedded to a 3-4-3 formation despite declaring himself more than satisfied with its unveiling at the Kirin Cup this week.
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 8, 2011
Kirin Cup ends with zero goals as Japan, Czech Republic close out tourney
Japan drew 0-0 with the Czech Republic on Tuesday as the three-game Kirin Cup tournament ended without a single goal being scored.
SOCCER / J. League
May 29, 2011
Tanaka double guides leaders Reysol past Vissel
Junya Tanaka scored two first-half goals and Leandro Domingues added another to extend Kashiwa Reysol's lead at the top of the J. League to three points with a 3-0 win over Vissel Kobe on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
May 28, 2011
Kitajima confident Reysol can sustain strong run
Not many people expected to see Kashiwa Reysol leading the J. League with May drawing to a close, but club captain Hideaki Kitajima sees no reason why the bubble should burst any time soon.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 26, 2011
Last season's top four struggle to juggle commitments
Asian Champions League commitments have undoubtedly played a big part, but last season's top four J. League teams were surely expecting a better start to the domestic campaign.
SOCCER / J. League
May 21, 2011
Kashima's Iwamasa trying to make the best of a difficult situation
The effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami have reached into every corner of Japanese soccer, but Kashima Antlers defender Daiki Iwamasa is determined not to let them smother his team's title challenge this season.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
May 19, 2011
Copa saga gives JFA another harsh lesson in global realities
Japan was hoping to use participation in this summer's Copa America as a learning experience, but the saga that led to Monday's withdrawal should hopefully provide a lesson in itself.
SOCCER / J. League
May 16, 2011
Frontale display impressive verve in win over Antlers
Kawasaki Frontale ensured Kashima Antlers' stop-start season remained stuck in first gear with a pulsating 3-2 win over the former J. League champions on Sunday.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 12, 2011
Early leaders stake claim as J. League settles into stride
It may be five weeks behind schedule, but finally the J. League season is beginning to hit its stride.
SOCCER / J. League
May 8, 2011
Albirex not satisfied after tie with Ardija
Albirex Niigata preserved their unbeaten start to the J. League season but failed to find a way past Omiya Ardija in a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
May 4, 2011
Defense sets tone for Marinos in shutout over rival Reds
Yokohama F. Marinos kept up their impressive start to the J. League season with a well-deserved 2-0 away win over Urawa Reds on Tuesday.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 28, 2011
Vegalta, HollyHock please fans with successful returns
Vegalta Sendai's late win over Kawasaki Frontale gave the J. League a memorable story line on its return to action on Saturday, but the mere fact that soccer was back on the menu was the real victory.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 24, 2011
Vegalta Sendai victorious in return
Vegalta Sendai enjoyed a fairy tale return to J. League action as Jiro Kamata scored an 87th-minute winner to give the stricken Miyagi Prefecture side a 2-1 victory over Kawasaki Frontale on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 23, 2011
Experience has taught Nakamura how to persevere
If the J. League is looking for inspiration as it prepares to restart the season on Saturday, Shunsuke Nakamura knows more than a thing or two about triumph over adversity.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
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.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
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.
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.
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).
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.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

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