What it is
JIS X 0510 is the national standard in Japan that defines the QR code symbology. It covers the same ground as ISO/IEC 18004: symbol structure, encoding modes, error correction and decoding.
The QR code was developed by DENSO WAVE in 1994. It was standardized by AIM International in 1997, as JIS X 0510 in 1999, and as ISO/IEC 18004 in 2000.
- 1994: QR code developed by DENSO WAVE
- 1997: AIM International standard
- 1999: JIS X 0510 published
- 2000: ISO/IEC 18004 published
Relation to the ISO standard
Later revisions of JIS X 0510 have followed the ISO text closely, so a code made to one is valid under the other. In practice, most implementers outside Japan work from ISO/IEC 18004, while Japanese documents often cite the JIS number.
The Japanese standard keeps a close link to the QR code’s origins. Kanji mode, which stores Shift JIS characters in 13 bits each, reflects its design for Japanese text from the start.