Abstract: A method for recognizing characters includes the steps of: inputting image data; carrying out a recognition process for recognizing each character based on the image data, the recognition process including a plurality of processes, each of the plurality of processes generating a result based on independent information, wherein a recognition result with respect to each character is determined based on the result generated in each of the plurality of processes; generating a degree of belief for the recognition result with respect to each character; and outputting the recognition result and the degree of belief with respect to the recognition result.