開放
かいほう · kaihou · JLPT N2 · noun
open
🚪 開 (open) + 放 (release) = open up and let go; the door is thrown open to the public
Use this for 'open' as in a door, and for 'liberalization' as in opening up rules. The second character 放 means release or let go, so the word means letting something out into the open.
放 — 方 (square/phonetic) + 攵 (rap/strike radical)
放 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 方 supplies the sound and 攵 (a hand holding a stick) supplies the meaning of striking or driving away. The original sense was to banish or drive out, which broadened over time to 'release', 'let go', and 'put down'.