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April 01, 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 / CLUB WORLD CUP
Dec 22, 2008
Yamazaki leads Gamba to third-place finish
Gamba Osaka beat Mexico's Pachuca 1-0 on Sunday to claim a second consecutive third-place finish for a Japanese team at the Club World Cup.
SOCCER / CLUB WORLD CUP
Dec 22, 2008
Rooney lifts United to first CWC title
YOKOHAMA — Manchester United overcame a second-half red card for Nemanja Vidic to win the Club World Cup with a 1-0 victory over LDU Quito on Sunday.
SOCCER
Dec 21, 2008
United ready for final push
YOKOHAMA — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is bracing for a bruising Club World Cup final encounter with Ecuador's LDU Quito on Sunday, but is confident his side can bring the world title back to Old Trafford for the second time in the club's history.
SOCCER
Dec 20, 2008
Fergie sees red over Real's Ronaldo claim
YOKOHAMA — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has rubbished Real Madrid's claims to have reached a deal with Cristiano Ronaldo over a summer move to the Bernabeu, saying he "wouldn't sell them a virus."
SOCCER / CLUB WORLD CUP
Dec 19, 2008
United advances to final as goal rush sees off Gamba
YOKOHAMA — Wayne Rooney came off the bench to ignite a second-half goal rush as Manchester United beat Gamba Osaka 5-3 Thursday to reach the final of the Club World Cup.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 18, 2008
Gamba needs superhuman effort to scalp United
Gamba Osaka will be aware there is potential for a thrashing at the hands of Manchester United in Thursday's Club World Cup semifinal, but the possibility of a shock upset should not be discounted either.
SOCCER
Dec 18, 2008
LDU Quito brush aside Pachuca to reach final
South American champion LDU Quito produced a first-half blitz to beat Mexico's Pachuca 2-0 Wednesday and book a place in the Club World Cup final.
SOCCER
Dec 17, 2008
Ferguson targets world domination
YOKOHAMA — Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson insists his side is going all-out for Club World Cup glory this week, but is taking nothing for granted ahead of Thursday's semifinal clash with Gamba Osaka.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 13, 2008
Manchester United a near lock to lift Club World Cup
A trip to Japan just before the busiest time of the Premier League season would probably not be on Alex Ferguson's ideal itinerary, but there will never be a better chance for Manchester United to become world champions again.
SOCCER
Dec 12, 2008
Adelaide beats Waitakere
Adelaide United manager Aurelio Vidmar sounded a warning to Gamba Osaka after his side edged past Waitakere United 2-1 in the opening game of the Club World Cup on Thursday.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 7, 2008
Antlers repeat as champs
Defending champions Kashima Antlers held their nerve to clinch the 2008 J. League title with a 1-0 win over Consadole Sapporo on Saturday.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 5, 2008
Determination brings Antlers to brink of J. League crown
This year's J. League title race has been so unpredictable that nothing can be ruled out until the final whistle, but it would take a mighty twist in the tale for Kashima Antlers to be denied the championship on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Dec 4, 2008
Miller focused ahead of JEF's day of reckoning
NARASHINO, Chiba Pref. — JEF United Chiba manager Alex Miller is refusing to be distracted by events elsewhere in the J. League as his side makes a last-ditch attempt to avoid relegation on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 30, 2008
Iwamasa's injury-time tally keeps Antlers on track for league glory
KASHIMA, Ibaraki Pref. — An injury-time header from Daiki Iwamasa gave Kashima Antlers one hand on the J. League title with a 1-0 win over Jubilo Iwata on Saturday.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Nov 28, 2008
Urawa's treatment of fired Engels a real disgrace
Gert Engels' dismissal on Thursday as manager of Urawa Reds was inevitable, but although he must shoulder some of the blame for a disappointing season in Saitama, the German could have expected better than the shabby treatment he received over the past few weeks.
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 24, 2008
Engels: Reds need to make decision
SAITAMA — Urawa Reds manager Gert Engels has urged the club to make a decision on his future after an apparent pretender to his throne watched his side's 2-1 defeat to Shimizu S-Pulse on Sunday.
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 24, 2008
S-Pulse spoil Urawa's title hopes
SAITAMA — Shimizu S-Pulse all but killed off Urawa Reds' J. League title hopes with a 2-1 win on Sunday, on a day when Kashima Antlers, Nagoya Grampus and Kawasaki Frontale all surged away from the chasing pack.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Nov 23, 2008
J. League title chase enters home stretch
The J. League title race going down to the wire is nothing new, but this year's championship is shaping up to be the tightest yet.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Nov 19, 2008
Japan must beware at scene of biggest nightmare
The "Agony of Doha" — where Japan conceded a last-minute goal to Iraq to miss out on qualification for the 1994 World Cup — is indelibly burned on Japanese soccer's consciousness.
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 14, 2008
Japan earns easy win
KOBE — Japan warmed up for next week's crunch World Cup qualifier against Qatar with a straightforward 3-1 friendly win over Syria on Thursday night.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
School-age suicides in Japan hit all-time high
A volunteer handles an incoming call at the Tokyo Befrienders call center, a suicide hotline center in Japan's capital.
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
In Tokyo, Pentagon chief provides assurances that Japan-U.S. alliance remains robust
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani (left) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo ahead of their talks Sunday.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
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.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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
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