Okay, I am beyond confused. If Japanese calls french fries as fried potatoes, I mean there is nothing wrong with it. In fact, the naming of "french fries" is technically a wrong name because it was originated from Belgium, not France. In France, they call it as Frites which translates to fries.

The term french fries ("French" is often not capitalized) is used mostly in North American English. Other parts of the English-speaking world use other terms, like "chips." In North American English a fried potato could have any form, it just means that it's fried. For example country-fried potatoes are potato chunks fried in a pan. On the other hand, french fries have a particular form, typically long and thin, and are deep fried, sometimes twice.

To be honest, Americans have no idea why they're called french fries either... I looked on google for the answer, the origin is disputed. They're either from Belgium, or France, but no one is certain. In England, they're called "chips." Which is what we call 「チップ」。珍しいね？