.osaka

Status:	Proposed
country:	Japan, International
Type:	GeoTLD
More information:

.osaka is a proposed new gTLD in ICANN's new gTLD program. It has been approved by the government of the Japanese Prefecture of Osaka, which issued letters of support for four potentially competitive entities to apply for and manage the extension. Those companies approved by the government of Osaka are GMO Registry, Interlink (parent company of UrbanBrain), BusinessRalliart, and Future Spirits.

Applicants

In the end, only two of the four approved applicants applied:

1. GMO Registry
2. Interlink, Community Priority Application

Community Application

Interlink Co. Ltd. applied for community priority whereas GMO Registry did not. Beyond securing the Government's support, Interlink also recieved letters of support from organizations and companies around Osaka, which is itself a requisite of a community priority application. "The Osaka community has been in existence for thousands of years, and is known as Japan’s oldest capital. Osaka has been an economic and cultural center of the Japan for over a long span of time, though formally, the geographic area that defines the community, Osaka Prefecture, was formally established in 1868... The community is best defined by its geographic boundaries. The Osaka Prefecture is currently the 3rd most populous area in Japan with a community of over 8.8 million people." The applicant delineates the community along as including legal entities, citizens, governments and public sectors; it proposed creating a Domain Advisory Committee composed of members from each area in order to create, enforce, and oversee its registration policies.

"All registrants of an “.osaka” name must satisfy at least one the following: Osaka municipalities and local governments; Public and private institutions in Osaka; Organizations, companies, and other businesses in Osaka; Residents of Osaka; Others community members who have a bona fide purpose for registering and using a “.osaka” domain. Registrants who purchase “.osaka” names will be required to certify that meet one of the categories above. Meeting these requirements is on a continual basis, and therefore the registrant re-certifies compliance with the above during each subsequent renewal term. In other words, registrants must ensure they remain in compliance with the Nexus Requirement."