Masahiro Hara
Masahiro Hara (born 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. Hara invented the QR code to track car parts while he was working at the Japanese company Denso Wave, which had a Toyota contract. Hara had been given the task of coming up with a better way of tracking parts used  in the automotive industry, and had helped develop a barcode system in the 1980s. 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. 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 2022. 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. Awards. In 2014, he and the inventors of the QR code development team were awarded the European Inventor Award.