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2020.8.6 Thu
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Regarding issues involving the English name of Osaka Koritsu [Public] University [updated August 6, 2020]

In June, Osaka University asked Osaka Prefecture, Osaka City, and Osaka Koritsu [Public] University (scheduled to open in April 2022) to reconsider the decision of the use of “University of Osaka” as the English name of Osaka Koritsu University; however, OU has not received a response from them.

Since “University of Osaka” has already been used as a synonym of “Osaka University” overseas, “University of Osaka,” the English name “Osaka Koritsu University” has chosen, will surely cause confusion among researchers and students overseas, clouding the futures of the two universities.

Regarding the English names of Osaka Koritsu University and its schools, the following issues have arisen:

1. Some names of schools/graduate schools of Osaka Koritsu University share those of Osaka University

Since the proposed names of nine schools at Osaka Koritsu University are identical to their counterparts at Osaka University, the similarity in these names makes it difficult for people to identify the school (and, by extension, the university to which the school belongs).

2. Similar names will confuse international students hoping to study at these universities

Some 2,600 international students from 112 countries are currently studying at Osaka University, the third most among Japanese public universities. Osaka Koritsu University has also unveiled its scheme to accept international students in order to enhance its global competency.

It is necessary to prevent confusion both for the universities, which plan to further expand the number of international students in attendance, and for international students hoping to study at these universities.

3. Causing confusion over author affiliation

In many abstract and citation databases, including Scopus, the affiliation of OU researchers has already been described not only as “Osaka University,” but also as “University of Osaka.”

If an author is incorrectly identified due to a similar institutional affiliation, the author’s performance is not expected to be correctly evaluated.

Universities are frequently evaluated using metrics such as citations in university ranking, so an incorrect count of the number of citations means that the performance of Osaka Koritsu University may not be accurately evaluated.

4. “Osaka University” and “University of Osaka” are regarded as synonymous overseas

In English speaking countries, for example, the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford often use “Cambridge University” and “Oxford University,” respectively, on their own websites.

In notation systems of French, Spanish, Italian, and Swedish, “Osaka University” is noted as “University of Osaka” and in Latin, the former is regarded as synonymous with the latter. These two names are highly likely to be mistaken as being synonymous in other linguistic areas as well, causing confusion around the world.

As stated above, confusion of university names can have a profound effect. Osaka University believes that the name of the Osaka Koritsu University needs to be determined from a global perspective so as not to cause confusion and misunderstanding among international researchers and students. Osaka University will continue to request that related individuals reconsider the English name of Osaka Koritsu University to prevent any unnecessary confusion.

August 6, 2020

Osaka University

Related link

Regarding the English name of Osaka Koritsu [Public] University (Friday, June 26, 2020)

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