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July 05, 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.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 21, 2010
Osako's late heroics lift Antlers over Ardija
SAITAMA — Teenage substitute Yuya Osako scored with his first touch less than a minute after coming off the bench to give Kashima Antlers a 1-0 win over Omiya Ardija on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 18, 2010
Flying start suggests Frontale finally mean business
Received wisdom dictates that a league table is not even worth looking at until two months of a new season have passed, but one glance after just two weeks of this year's J. League campaign says plenty about Kawasaki Frontale.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 14, 2010
Nakamura relishes win in long-awaited return to Marinos
YOKOHAMA — Shunsuke Nakamura enjoyed a winning return to the J. League as Yokohama F. Marinos cruised past Shonan Bellmare 3-0 on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 7, 2010
Antlers show class against Reds
KASHIMA, Ibaraki Pref. — Kashima Antlers gave yet another example of their pedigree as the defending champions opened the new J. League season with a masterful 2-0 win over Urawa Reds on Saturday.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 4, 2010
Stojkovic hopeful newcomers will bolster Grampus
With every year that passes in his tenure as manager of Nagoya Grampus, the stakes Dragan Stojkovic has to play with just keep getting higher. But if the Serbian is feeling the pressure as he prepares to begin his third season at the helm against Gamba Osaka this weekend, his poker face is a good one....
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 3, 2010
Frontale placing hopes on Inamoto
If there was a certain inevitability about the way Kawasaki Frontale failed to win their first piece of major silverware last season, it did not go unnoticed by anyone at the Kanagawa club.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 2, 2010
Finke's vision slowly taking root at Urawa
Volker Finke knew his job was not going to be easy when he took over as manager of Urawa Reds last season, and so it proved.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 28, 2010
Endo's miss helps Antlers top Gamba in Fuji Xerox Super Cup shootout
A rare penalty miss from Yasuhito Endo handed Kashima Antlers the Fuji Xerox Super Cup with a 5-3 shootout win after a 1-1 regulation-time draw on Saturday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 27, 2010
Oliveira says Antlers hungry for another title
Kashima Antlers manager Oswaldo Oliveira insists success has left his record-breaking team hungrier than ever, and intends to prove the point in Saturday's Fuji Xerox Super Cup against Gamba Osaka.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Feb 18, 2010
Time for Okada to step back and take stock
National team manager Takeshi Okada vowed to get straight back in the saddle after his public dressing-down on Monday. After the beating he has just taken, a period of quiet reflection might be a better option.
SOCCER / World cup
Feb 16, 2010
Okada escapes sack
Under-fire national team manager Takeshi Okada will lead Japan at the World Cup after surviving showdown talks with Japan Football Association president Motoaki Inukai on Monday.
SOCCER / World cup
Feb 15, 2010
Japan blows chance to win E. Asian title
Japan had to settle for third place in the four-nation East Asian Football Championship after a frantic, incident-packed 3-1 defeat to South Korea on Sunday.
SOCCER / World cup
Feb 12, 2010
Tamada guides Japan to 3-0 win over Hong Kong
Japan overcame its dry patch in front of goal but still made heavy weather of a 3-0 win over minnows Hong Kong in the East Asian Football Championship on Thursday.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Feb 11, 2010
Action, not words, needed to save Japan from humiliation
Given the empty rhetoric that has come to characterize his reign as national team manager, it was no surprise to hear Takeshi Okada attempting to put a positive spin on Japan's dismal 0-0 draw with China last weekend.
SOCCER / World cup
Feb 7, 2010
Opportunistic Narazaki ensures draw for Japan
Seigo Narazaki saved Japan's blushes with a late penalty stop to salvage a 0-0 draw with China in the opening game of the East Asian Football Championship on Saturday.
SOCCER / World cup
Feb 6, 2010
Okada wants to see players' fighting spirit
National team manager Takeshi Okada has warned his players they will be fighting for their World Cup lives at the East Asian Football Championship over the coming week.
SOCCER / J. League
Feb 1, 2010
Kashiwagi relishing challenge at unfamiliar Urawa
SAITAMA — If Urawa Reds manager Volker Finke intends to focus on the positives from his first year in charge of the J. League club, new recruit Yosuke Kashiwagi is on hand to remind him how far the team still has to go.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jan 21, 2010
Okada straying from beaten path with Ogasawara callup
As national team manager Takeshi Okada would have it, last week's decision to end J. League player of the year Mitsuo Ogasawara's three-and-half-year international exile was just the next step on his road map toward the World Cup.
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 16, 2010
Inamoto ready for challenge
KAWASAKI — Junichi Inamoto believes he can be the final piece in Kawasaki Frontale's championship puzzle after ending his eight-and-a-half year spell in Europe to join last season's J. League runnerup.
SOCCER / World cup
Jan 14, 2010
Surprise callup breathes new life into Ogasawara's World Cup hopes
National team manager Takeshi Okada handed reigning J. League player of the year Mitsuo Ogasawara a World Cup lifeline on Wednesday with a first callup since June 2006.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Muji has been sustainable from the beginning
Muji has been sustainable from the beginning

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