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 worked at Denso, a Toyota Group subsidiary, where he began developing a barcode system. One day during a lunchtime game of go, he realized the black-and-white patterns could encode information. He also researched publications to find a unique proportion for the position pattern to ensure readability. The code was introduced in 1994.

In 2021, QR codes were being used to book and track COVID-19 tests and contact tracing.

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".

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 1 to 3, 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.