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.
For Andrew McKirdy's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Hiroaki Okuno and Takuma Nishimura both scored in the second half as Vegalta Sendai beat Kashiwa Reysol 2-0 on Saturday to claim their first J. League win in four games. Vegalta went into the match at Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium having picked up only four ...
Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic organizers are confident that security for the games will run smoothly and effectively after unveiling a pioneering face-recognition ID system Tuesday. The technology, which will be provided by NEC Corp. and used at the Olympics and Paralympics for the first ...
Classical actor and director Mansai Nomura promised Tuesday that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies will be full of "Japaneseness" and "wit," one day after the games' organizing committee named him chief executive creative director for the four events. "There are ...
National team captain Makoto Hasebe revealed Thursday that it was the team's staff — not the players — who were responsible for leaving the dressing room spotless following Japan's World Cup defeat to Belgium on Monday. "The national team staff always make sure that the ...
National team manager Akira Nishino predicted Thursday that Japan will improve on its 2018 World Cup performance by reaching the quarterfinals in 2022, but he will not be around to lead the charge after the Japan Football Association announced it would not extend his ...
Japan's exit from the World Cup on Monday was soccer at its cruelest, but once the dust has settled the team will be able to look back on its campaign with pride and satisfaction. Japan was denied a first-ever place in the quarterfinals after a ...
It was not pretty, but Japan did what was necessary to survive at the World Cup. If the Samurai Blue can make history by beating Belgium on Monday to reach the quarterfinals for the first time, the rather undignified end to Thursday's 1-0 loss ...
A World Cup campaign that threatened to be an ordeal for Japan is turning into one of steadily growing conviction. If the Samurai Blue can produce another performance like Sunday's 2-2 draw with Senegal, a place in the knockout round will be theirs for ...
An opening win that few saw coming has given Japan the perfect start to its World Cup campaign, but there will be further hurdles to clear if the team is to book its place in the knockout round. Japan beat Colombia 2-1 in Saransk on ...
Rugby fans in Kobe believe excitement is growing ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup, with the national team's first-ever test match in the city on Saturday helping to turn up the volume. "I think little by little the atmosphere is building," 54-year-old Japan fan ...
