The social image of the Open University of Japan on Twitter ─Comparative analysis of stakeholders and non-stakeholders of The Open University of Japan─

This year（2023）, The Open University of Japan is celebrating its 40th anniversary since its founding. What image has The Open University of Japan had in society? In this study, we focused on Twitter（currently referred to as X）, which is one of the most influential platforms on social media , and attempted to extract the social image of The Open University of Japan through quantitative analysis of its vast text data, as well as trace its transformation. The data used were all tweets（currently referred to as posts）containing the term “Housoudaigaku”（it means “The Open University of Japan” in English）from 2007 to 2022, obtained using the Twitter API. Furthermore, the tweeters were categorized into stakeholders and non-stakeholders of The Open University of Japan. The results of the analysis showed that the number of tweets containing the term “Housou-daigaku” reached its first peak in 2012, and then surpassed that in 2021, and that there were four periods when tweets by “nonstakeholders”were concentrated. Moreover, regarding words tweeted simultaneously with “Housou-daigaku”, it was shown that stakeholders tend to tweet about academic-related content, while non-stakeholders tend to tweet about broadcast media and faculty members. In particular, academic-related content showed a periodic increase and decrease in tweets in line with the academic calendar, and it was confirmed that stakeholders or nonstakeholders are more likely to mention certain words depending on the social situation. Furthermore, as a result of topic analysis, tweets related to The Open University of Japan were classified into 10 topics. From the transition of the topic composition ratio, it was revealed that mentions of faculty members have decreased, and that the periods when stakeholders frequently mention topics related to psychology and non-stakeholders frequently mention them change depending on the curriculum and availability of face-to-face classes at The Open University of Japan. The social image of The Open University of Japan has been recognized through broadcast media and faculty members, and has attracted attention when changes or reports occur. On the other hand, stakeholders of The Open University of Japan have a relatively high interest in academic affairs, and social media has been used as a place for student interaction, and it has been recognized as a place for learning.