Heisei Maru Gothic was the second typeface family developed by a group of type foundries formed by the Japanese Standards Association. The development project began in 1989, when the Font Development and Promotion Center, an affiliate of the JSA, elected Sha-Ken Co., Ltd. to be the designer. Heisei Maru Gothic is a traditional round gothic typeface with relatively larger counter-spaces, which gives it a kind of openness and brightness. Unnecessary subtle stroke features are avoided to optimize printing on low-resolution output devices. Two weights are available.