Masahiro Hara. Masahiro Hara (, Hepburn: , born on August 8, 1957) is a Japanese engineer and Hosei University graduate who is best known for inventing the QR code in 1994.

Early life and education 
Hara was born in Tokyo in 1957. He studied in the department of electric and electronic engineering at Hosei University. He graduated in 1980.

Career

Denso and QR code invention 
After graduating from Hosei University, Hara was working at the Japanese company Denso, which is a subsidiary of the Toyota Group. From then on, Hara started working to develop a barcode system. In 1992, in Denso's developing department (later Denso Wave), Hara had been given a task to develop a new 2D code system that is capable of productively tracking components used in the automotive industry, thus started a new project. One day at work, over a lunchtime game of go, he recognized the game's black and white pattern could be used to encode information. He also made an investigation on publications to seek a unique proportion for the position pattern to make sure that readers could be able to identify. The code was introduced in 1994.

In 2021, QR codes were being used to book and track COVID-19 tests and contact tracing. Hara has stated that he would like to develop QR codes for additional medical purposes, including imaging such as x-rays or electrocardiogram data. Hara still works for Denso as of 2024.

Japan International Cooperation Agency 
Hara was the chief engineer and advisor for a Japan International Cooperation Agency's "School For All" program to improve education in Niger.

Selected publications 

 Co-author of chapters 7 & 12 of "Educational development through community-wide collaboration", 2020 book "Community Participation with Schools in Developing Countries" ISBN 9780429057472

Awards
Masahiro Hara has been widely recognized for his revolutionary invention of the QR code, which has transformed industries across the globe. In 2014, he and the inventors of the QR code development team were awarded the European Inventor Award. The 2014 award ceremony took place on June 17 in Berlin, at Deutsche Telekom's Berlin Representative Office (Former Kaiserliches Telegrafenamt), in honor of the 20th anniversary of the invention.

In October 2024, Masahiro Hara made his first visit to France to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his invention. He was invited by his friend, contemporary artist qargo, one of the pioneers in incorporating QR codes into art. Hara was the guest of honor at the 10th edition of the 1to1 Experience Client event in Biarritz, held from October 1st to 3rd, where he shared the story of the QR code's creation. Hara highlighted how QR codes have transformed various sectors, from facilitating over 2 billion daily payments in China to being used for electronic ticketing and everyday smartphone applications.

During the event, qargo unveiled a special artwork dedicated to Hara to mark this technological milestone. Hara humorously mentioned that he can still decode a QR code manually using just paper and pencil. 

He also discussed the future potential of QR codes, envisioning colored versions capable of storing up to 7,000 characters, including short videos, directly viewable on the code.

A world QR code day was created on August 8, in honor of the date of birth of its inventor.

References

Further reading
 

Living people
Hosei University alumni
Japanese engineers
Japanese inventors
1957 births