DENSO Corporation (株式会社デンソー, Kabushiki-Gaisha Densō) is a global automotive components manufacturer headquartered in the city of Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

The name DENSO (電装, densō) is a blend word of the Japanese terms for "electricity" (電気, denki) and "device" (装置, sōchi).

Traditional barcodes had limitations, including their low data capacity and sensitivity to damage, such as oil stains, which caused scanning errors.

Inspired by the black-and-white patterns of the Japanese strategy game Go, the QR code can store 200 times more characters than a standard barcode and remains readable even if 30% of its surface is damaged, thanks to its error correction mechanism.

The QR code was released under a free license, which allowed it to gain widespread adoption beyond the automotive sector, expanding into industries such as logistics, commerce, marketing, and healthcare.

By 2024, during the 30th anniversary of the QR code, Hara expressed pride in seeing his invention adopted worldwide across diverse fields, including design, healthcare, and even tattoos.

He also highlighted its cultural appropriation by artists like qargo, who creatively combined QR codes with Lego bricks to produce interactive and unique portraits that tell inspiring stories.

On January 30, 2012, the US Justice Department announced after two years of investigation that it had discovered part of a massive price fixing scheme in which Denso and Yazaki played a significant role.

[16][17] In August 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed in Quebec over alleged defective fuel pumps in a number of Acura, Honda, Lexus, Subaru, and Toyota vehicle models.