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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.

TENNIS

Oct 2, 2009

Sharapova, Jankovic advance to semifinals

Former world No. 1s Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic remained on course for a final showdown with quarterfinal wins at the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Thursday, while Ai Sugiyama raged against the dying light to move into the semifinals of the doubles competition.

Japan Times

SOCCER / J. League

Sep 27, 2009

Wilkie says J. League refs need to slow pace of game

Referees are rarely out of the spotlight in the J. League, but the recent rain-abandoned game between Kashima Antlers and Kawasaki Frontale has turned up the glare.

SOCCER / J. League

Sep 27, 2009

Chiba falters, moves closer to relegation

CHIBA — JEF United Chiba slipped closer to the relegation trapdoor with a 2-1 loss to fellow strugglers Montedio Yamagata on Saturday, on a night when Kashima Antlers' stumbling pursuit of the title took yet another wrong turn.

SOCCER

Sep 24, 2009

Rally gives Frontale slight advantage over Grampus

Kawasaki Frontale came from behind to take a slender lead into next week's Asian Champions League quarterfinal second leg after beating Nagoya Grampus 2-1 in Wednesday's opening encounter.

SOCCER / J. League

Sep 20, 2009

Antlers stumble again; Frontale fail to capitalize

YOKOHAMA — Kashima Antlers' stranglehold on the J. League title race slipped again after a 2-1 defeat by Yokohama F. Marinos on Saturday, but best-placed challengers Kawasaki Frontale failed to capitalize by losing to Urawa Reds later in the evening.

SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK

Sep 19, 2009

Resolving Antlers-Frontale match fairly presented tough dilemma

Faced with a minefield in the aftermath of last weekend's abandoned top-of-the-table clash between Kashima Antlers and Kawasaki Frontale, the J. League deserves credit for guiding a sure-footed path toward steadier ground.

Japan Times

SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE

Sep 14, 2009

Japan shows flaws, mettle in friendlies

National team manager Takeshi Okada was hoping his squad's recent tour of the Netherlands would give him food for thought ahead of the World Cup in South Africa.

SOCCER / J. League

Sep 14, 2009

Reds end seven-game losing streak

SAITAMA — Urawa Reds finally snapped their seven-game losing streak on Sunday with a 4-1 win over Montedio Yamagata that was not quite as convincing as the final score might suggest.

SOCCER / J. League

Sep 8, 2009

Captain Suzuki finds peace at eye of Urawa's storm

SAITAMA — Less than two years ago, it was almost impossible to imagine a national team without Keita Suzuki.

SOCCER / J. League

Sep 3, 2009

Frontale take control of semifinal

KAWASAKI — Kawasaki Frontale planted one foot in the Nabisco Cup final with a disciplined 2-0 semifinal first-leg win over Yokohama F. Marinos on Wednesday night.

SOCCER / J. League

Aug 30, 2009

Ardija rout first-place Antlers

SAITAMA — Omiya Ardija raised hopes of a genuine J. League title race with a comprehensive 3-1 win over league leaders Kashima Antlers on Saturday night.

Japan Times

SOCCER / J. League

Aug 29, 2009

Omiya's Neretljak makes it clear that compensation comes first

SHIKI, Saitama Pref. — As the European transfer window slams shut for another summer, Omiya Ardija's Croatian defender Mato Neretljak can afford himself a wry smile.

Japan Times

SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE

Aug 27, 2009

Double Dutch challenge too good an opportunity to waste

Catania striker Takayuki Morimoto looks set for his first national team callup when Takeshi Okada names his squad for next week's tour of the Netherlands on Friday, but don't expect many more new faces.

SOCCER / J. League

Aug 23, 2009

Rafael's equalizer spoils chance of JEF victory

JEF United Chiba missed a chance to bolster their bid for first-division survival by conceding a second-half equalizer to fellow strugglers Omiya Ardija in a 1-1 draw on Saturday night.

SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK

Aug 22, 2009

Nakamura in running for ACL's top player honor

For all his 37 international appearances and iconic status as Kawasaki Frontale's poster boy, Kengo Nakamura's career has never quite escaped the shadow of his more illustrious contemporaries.

SOCCER / J. League

Aug 20, 2009

Kennedy, Tamada score as Nagoya ends two-game skid

CHIBA — Josh Kennedy and Keiji Tamada combined to halt Nagoya Grampus' slide with a 2-0 win over JEF United Chiba, but there was no such joy at the top of the J. League table as all four leading teams lost on Wednesday night.

SOCCER / J. League

Aug 16, 2009

Frontale's Chong draws strength from pride in North Korean heritage

KURIHIRA, Kanagawa Pref. — Kawasaki Frontale's North Korean striker Chong Tese has a busy year ahead of him.

SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE

Aug 13, 2009

Youth movement not enough to satisfy Reds' ambitions

Urawa Reds manager Volker Finke could barely conceal his disbelief at reaching the season's halfway mark on 34 points. But with his team stuck on the same tally one month and three straight defeats later, the German's caution seems well founded.

SOCCER / J. League

Aug 6, 2009

Sorimachi rebuilding reputation after Beijing bust

HIRATSUKA, Kanagawa Pref. — A year has passed since Japan's Beijing Olympic soccer debacle, but for manager Yasuharu Sorimachi, the wounds healed a long time ago.

SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK

Aug 5, 2009

Jofuku's leadership has FC Tokyo poised to be contender soon

A last-minute loss to Kawasaki Frontale may have checked FC Tokyo's charge up the J. League table last weekend, but it will take more than one defeat to wipe out the steady progress the capital city club has made over the past six months.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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

Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty

Yamagata’s Zao Onsen Ski Resort is a classic beauty

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