A row has broken out among Tokyo residents over the name of the city’s newest railway station, largely because it includes the English-language word “gateway”.

Critics of the decision by East Japan Railway Co. to name the Yamanote Line’s newest station Takanawa Gateway have launched a petition demanding that the company change the name. The station is due to open in 2020, shortly before Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games.

And the critics point out that the railway firm ignored the other names put forward by members of the public after they asked for suggestions. Takanawa Gateway attracted a handful of nominations and came in 130th on the list of possible names for the station, the petition on change.org stated.

As of Tuesday morning, the petition demanding that the name be changed had attracted nearly 14,000 signatories, with many people angered that the station would be using a foreign term in its name.

“I do not need English words. This is Japan”, said Keiko Shima on the site, while Yasuharu Okura said the use of English “It is not suitable for the name of a Japanese station”.

Others have complained that the name is too long and that “gateway” is difficult to pronounce for Japanese.