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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
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 6, 2019
Chiba loquat grower loves his work, but frets over the future of the biwa business
Kenzo Takeba picks a loquat out of his basket, unwraps it from its paper cover and expertly begins to peel off the delicate orange skin with his fingers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 1, 2019
The prison inside: Japan's hikikomori lack relationships, not physical spaces
Fifty-three-year-old Kenji Yamase doesn't fit the traditional image of a hikikomori, but then perceptions of Japan's social recluses are changing.
Japan Times
Rugby
May 16, 2019
Scotland's Stuart Hogg looks ahead to rematch with Brave Blossoms
Scotland fullback Stuart Hogg admits the autumn heat in Japan could hamper his team's chances of claiming a Rugby World Cup quarterfinal spot at the host nation's expense later this year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 13, 2019
Taking the fall: The hard-knock life of a stunt performer in Japan
Trainer Chuck Johnson explains what it takes to get a piece of the action in this rough-and-tumble world of stunt performers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 8, 2019
Support act: Behind every Japanese prime minister is a fascinating first lady
When Chizuko Obuchi's husband, Keizo, became prime minister of Japan in July 1998 and the couple moved into the official residence, she was taken aback by what she found.
Japan Times
Rugby
Apr 11, 2019
Wallabies icon George Gregan preaches value of preparation in quest for RWC title
George Gregan has experienced the full gamut of Rugby World Cup emotions, but the Australian legend knows what he is looking forward to most when Japan hosts the tournament later this year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2019
Pooches put their best paw forward at Japan International Dog Show
The event is the biggest dog show in Japan, with 2,201 canines representing 134 different breeds at this year's edition, which marks the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Japan Kennel Club.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2019
Tokyo Big Sight: Japan's biggest convention center all set for Olympic duty
One thing you notice pretty quickly when you spend some time attending events at Tokyo Big Sight is that there is a lot of esoteric language on display.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2019
Yamanote Line train driver fulfills life's dream, down to the exact second
Ask any group of children in Japan what they want to be when they grow up and one answer in particular is sure to feature.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2019
After almost a year behind the wheel, Tokyo's foreign cab drivers reflect on navigating a new way of life
Growing up in Canada, Alex Lipson never imagined he would one day become a taxi driver — especially not on the other side of the world in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 2, 2019
'No one wants to be homeless': A glimpse at life on the streets of Tokyo
Seventy-year-old Yoshitomo Hara now lives in a housing facility, but he is well-versed in strategies to deal with sleeping rough in Tokyo during winter.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 27, 2019
Episode 8: So you want to be a Japanese comedian?
What makes a quail's egg funnier than an ostrich's? Andrew McKirdy finds out with a little bit of help from professional manzai comedian Patrick Harlan. Hosted by Oscar Boyd.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 20, 2019
Heavy metal: Moonlighting knights and medieval swordplay in Tokyo
Jay Noyes, clad head to toe in the steel armor of a medieval knight, is steadily advancing toward me with a longsword, which he intends to hit me with.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 13, 2019
Olympic and Paralympic venues on track to be completed in time for summer test events
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic venues are on course to be completed in time for test events to be held there later this year, games organizers said Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Feb 5, 2019
Game for a laugh: Learning to become a manzai comedian
As I stand in the cramped wooden gangway at the side of the stage, going over my lines in a frantic whisper, I am reminded of something that American comedian Patrick Harlan had told me when we first met four months ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 24, 2019
In smoker's paradise Japan, 81-year-old Bungaku Watanabe has spent decades leading a war on tobacco
"Is it OK if I smoke during the interview?" I ask Bungaku Watanabe, reaching into my coat pocket.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2018
An enthusiast of toy trains gives kids, young and old, a chance to play
Ten-year-old Koharu Yagi gazes at the meters and meters of plastic train track laid out in a room at the Plaza North culture center in the city of Saitama and lets out a sigh of wonder.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2018
NPO Fukuribi's wigs offer Japan's chemo patients new weapon in their fight against cancer
When TV celebrity Miki Yakata was told she would need chemotherapy after undergoing a mastectomy in April, she realized she would have to buy a wig.
Japan Times
Rugby
Dec 18, 2018
Volunteers audition for Rugby World Cup roles
Tokyo resident Masaru Seto knows why he wants to become a volunteer at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 8, 2018
Irasshaimase!: Foreign-born clerks are becoming a familiar sight at convenience stores nationwide, but is Japan ready to welcome them?
Phan Hoang Tu Linh feels she has gotten the hang of working in a Japanese convenience store now, but she admits she found it tough at first.
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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