「開放禁止」 Can I open the door?


I found a sign on a door that says

> 非常時{ひじょうじ} 以外{いがい} 開放{かいほう} 厳禁{げんきん}

The door leads to the staircase outside of the building.  
Here's what doesn't quite make sense to me: unless the case of emergency, am I
prohibited from:

  1. opening the door (Opening it will get you in trouble) or
  2. leaving the door open? (Going through it is acceptable?)

I'm kind of scared to go through that door, to be honest.




This is technically ambiguous because 開放 means both 開け放つ and 開けっ放しにする, but I
personally feel this 開放 just means "to open" rather than "to leave open." Thus
the sign should mean "emergency exit only."

  * [ドア開放事故](https://www.itarda.or.jp/itardainfomation/info114.pdf) or ドア開き事故 is a term that refers to an accident caused by _sudden_ opening of a door of a car.
  * This [ドア開放マニュアル](http://www.tokyo-horei.co.jp/shop/goods/index.php?12766) describes how to forcibly break locked doors in an emergency.
  * Some examples on BCCWJ clearly shows this verb can mean just "to open." 

>     * コンダクターがキャビンの扉を開放した。
>     * 操縦区画につづく水密扉が開放されて、淡い光が射しこんできた。
>     * ときにはその扉は開放されたままで看守係は場内と仮眠室を行き来するのに関心を持った。

But the biggest reason is, "非常時以外はすぐドアを閉めろ" makes very little sense as a sign,
from the security standpoint. I have seen many doors in Japan that are
normally locked but can be manually unlocked in case of emergency. The sign OP
saw is technically ambiguous, but I assume it refers to the same thing as
this.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/4E48z.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/4E48z.png)

Note that 開放 usually means liberation or opening to public (garden, etc.)




This is technically ambiguous because 開放 means both 開け放つ and 開けっ放しにする, but I
personally feel this 開放 just means "to open" rather than "to leave open." Thus
the sign should mean "emergency exit only."

  * [ドア開放事故](https://www.itarda.or.jp/itardainfomation/info114.pdf) or ドア開き事故 is a term that refers to an accident caused by _sudden_ opening of a door of a car.
  * This [ドア開放マニュアル](http://www.tokyo-horei.co.jp/shop/goods/index.php?12766) describes how to forcibly break locked doors in an emergency.
  * Some examples on BCCWJ clearly shows this verb can mean just "to open." 

>     * コンダクターがキャビンの扉を開放した。
>     * 操縦区画につづく水密扉が開放されて、淡い光が射しこんできた。
>     * ときにはその扉は開放されたままで看守係は場内と仮眠室を行き来するのに関心を持った。

But the biggest reason is, "非常時以外はすぐドアを閉めろ" makes very little sense as a sign,
from the security standpoint. I have seen many doors in Japan that are
normally locked but can be manually unlocked in case of emergency. The sign OP
saw is technically ambiguous, but I assume it refers to the same thing as
this.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/4E48z.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/4E48z.png)

Note that 開放 usually means liberation or opening to public (garden, etc.)

