Canon Inc.
Company History
Canon History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1937 in Ota, Japan
When was Canon founded?
Canon was founded in 1937 in Ota, Japan by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda, making it 89 years old.
- Founded
- 1937
- Founding place
- Ota, Japan
- Founders
- Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda
- Headquarters today
- Ota, Tokyo, Japan
- Milestones documented
- 16 (1933–2026)
- Current CEO
- Fujio Mitarai
- Acquisitions
- 11
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1933 | Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory opens |
| 1934 | Kwanon prototype |
| 1936 | Hansa Canon goes on sale |
| 1937 | Precision Optical Industry incorporated |
| 1949 | Tokyo Stock Exchange listing |
| 1964 | Canola 130 calculator |
| 1969 | Renamed Canon Inc. |
| 1987 | EOS system launches |
| 1995 | Fujio Mitarai becomes president |
| 2003 | Start of No. 1 camera share run |
| 2016 | Toshiba Medical acquisition |
| 2018 | EOS R mirrorless system |
| 2023 | Nanoimprint lithography launch |
| 2024 | First NIL shipment and medical impairment |
| 2025 | Record net sales of ~$31 billion (¥4,624.7 billion) |
| 2026 | Phase VII plan and new president |
- Where was Canon founded?
- Canon was founded in Ota, Japan in 1937. wikidata.org
- Who founded Canon?
- Canon was founded by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda.
- When did Canon start?
- Canon was founded in 1937.
- How old is Canon?
- Canon is 89 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
Canon began in November 1933, when Goro Yoshida, his brother-in-law Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda opened the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in a Roppongi apartment to build a Japanese rival to the Leica, which then cost 420 yen when a top graduate earned about 70 yen a month. Yoshida's 1934 prototype was named Kwanon after the Buddhist goddess of mercy, but it never went on sale. The lab filed for the more international 'Canon' trademark in 1935 and released its first commercial camera, the Hansa Canon, in 1936 with a Nikkor lens from Nippon Kogaku, today's Nikon. Precision Optical Industry, Co., Ltd. was incorporated on August 10, 1937, and Takeshi Mitarai, an obstetrician who had backed the venture, became president in 1942.
Founders
Takeshi Mitarai
Takeshi Mitarai supported the camera laboratory that Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda opened in 1933, and became president of its successor, Precision Optical Industry, Co., Ltd., in 1942. After the war he restarted camera production; the company became Canon Camera Co. in 1947, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1949, and opened a New York branch in 1955 and Canon Europa in Geneva in 1957. He led Canon as president until 1974. His nephew Fujio Mitarai joined the company in 1961 and is its Chairman and CEO today. Takeshi Mitarai was born in 1901.
Goro Yoshida
Yoshida took apart a Leica Model II and, as he later recalled, was angered to find it was built from brass, aluminium, iron and rubber yet sold for 420 yen. In November 1933 he set up the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in a Roppongi apartment with his brother-in-law Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda. He built the Kwanon prototype in 1934, naming it after the Buddhist goddess of mercy and its lens Kasyapa after a disciple of the Buddha. He left the laboratory in the autumn of 1934 over the direction of its camera work, before the first commercial model, the Hansa Canon, went on sale in 1936. He died in 1993. Goro Yoshida was born in 1900.
Saburo Uchida
Saburo Uchida (1899-1982) co-founded the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory with Goro Yoshida, his brother-in-law, and Takeo Maeda in November 1933. When the lab could not make its own lenses or rangefinders, Uchida's connections solved the problem: his brother Ryonosuke had been an auditor at Nippon Kogaku, which led to an introduction to its executive vice president Toyotaro Hori. The resulting agreement had Nippon Kogaku supply the Nikkor lens, lens mount, viewfinder optics and rangefinder for the Hansa Canon of 1936, while the lab built the body and focal-plane shutter. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Takeo Maeda
Takeo Maeda (1909-1977) was the youngest of the founding group. A former subordinate of Saburo Uchida, he joined Uchida and Goro Yoshida in opening the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory in Roppongi in November 1933 and worked on the Kwanon prototype and the Hansa Canon that followed in 1936. Canon counts him among the four founders of the company incorporated as Precision Optical Industry, Co., Ltd. in 1937. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Key Milestones
Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory opens
Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda open a camera laboratory in a Roppongi apartment in Tokyo to build a Japanese 35mm camera that could rival the Leica.
Source: global.canonKwanon prototype
Yoshida builds the Kwanon, Japan's first 35mm focal-plane-shutter camera prototype, named after the Buddhist goddess of mercy. It never goes on sale.
Source: global.canonHansa Canon goes on sale
The lab's first commercial camera, the Hansa Canon, uses a Nikkor lens and rangefinder supplied by Nippon Kogaku, the predecessor of Nikon. The 'Canon' trademark had been filed in 1935.
Source: global.canonPrecision Optical Industry incorporated
The business is incorporated on August 10, 1937 as Precision Optical Industry, Co., Ltd. Takeshi Mitarai becomes president in 1942.
Source: global.canonTokyo Stock Exchange listing
Canon Camera Co. (renamed in 1947) lists on the Tokyo Stock Exchange when postwar trading resumes, and opens a New York branch in 1955.
Source: global.canonCanola 130 calculator
Canon moves beyond cameras with the Canola 130 desktop electronic calculator, followed in 1970 by Japan's first plain-paper copier, the NP-1100, and its first semiconductor lithography tool, the PPC-1.
Source: global.canonRenamed Canon Inc.
Canon Camera Co. changes its name to Canon Inc. to reflect a product range that now spans business machines as well as cameras.
Source: global.canonEOS system launches
Canon launches the EOS 650 and the all-electronic EF lens mount, the base of its autofocus SLR and later digital SLR lines.
Source: global.canonFujio Mitarai becomes president
Fujio Mitarai takes over as president, exits personal computers and other loss-making lines, and in 1996 starts the Excellent Global Corporation Plan.
Source: global.canonStart of No. 1 camera share run
Canon takes the No. 1 share of the global interchangeable-lens digital camera market, a position it has held every year through 2025.
Source: global.canonToshiba Medical acquisition
Canon completes the ¥665.5 billion (about $5.9 billion) purchase of Toshiba Medical Systems in December 2016, later renamed Canon Medical Systems.
Source: global.canonEOS R mirrorless system
Canon launches the full-frame EOS R mirrorless system and RF lens mount.
Source: global.canonNanoimprint lithography launch
Canon releases the FPA-1200NZ2C nanoimprint lithography system in October 2023, able to pattern 14 nm lines, and delists its ADRs from the New York Stock Exchange in March.
Source: global.canonFirst NIL shipment and medical impairment
Canon ships its first nanoimprint system to the Texas Institute for Electronics on September 26, 2024, and books a ~$1.11 billion (¥165.1 billion) goodwill impairment on its medical business for the year.
Source: global.canonRecord net sales of ~$31 billion (¥4,624.7 billion)
Canon reports record 2025 net sales of ~$31 billion (¥4,624.7 billion) and net income attributable to Canon Inc. of ~$2.23 billion (¥332.1 billion).
Source: global.canonPhase VII plan and new president
Canon unveils its 2026-2030 Phase VII plan, merges Canon Medical's operations into Canon Inc. on April 1, and appoints Kazuto Ogawa President and COO on March 27 while Fujio Mitarai stays Chairman and CEO.
Source: global.canonMajor Acquisitions
Tokki Corporation
2007Canon took a majority stake in Japanese vacuum-equipment maker Tokki, adding deposition technology for organic EL (OLED) displays.
Océ N.V.
2010Canon bought the Dutch printing company, in a deal valuing its shares at about $825 million (€730 million), to expand in high-speed production and wide-format printing.
Molecular Imprints
2014Canon acquired the Austin, Texas nanoimprint developer to secure core technology for semiconductor nanoimprint lithography.
Milestone Systems
2014Canon bought the Danish open-platform video management software company to build a network video business.
Axis Communications
2015Canon bought the Swedish network camera maker, valued at about $2.8 billion, to lead in IP video surveillance.
Lifecake
2015Canon Europe acquired the UK photo-storage app for families.
Toshiba Medical Systems
2016Canon paid ¥665.5 billion (about $5.9 billion) to enter diagnostic imaging at scale with CT, MRI, ultrasound and X-ray systems.
Kite
2017Canon Europe acquired the UK print-on-demand software platform.
BriefCam
2018Canon bought the Israeli video-analytics software company to add AI search and summary tools to its network video products.
Redlen Technologies
2021Canon bought the Canadian maker of CZT semiconductor detector modules, in a deal reported at about $335 million, for photon-counting CT.
Canon Electronics (minority shares)
2026Canon launched a tender offer for the shares of listed subsidiary Canon Electronics it did not own, raising its stake to 87.94% in early 2026 ahead of a squeeze-out.
Keep researching Canon
Canon Company History FAQ
When was Canon founded?
Canon's predecessor, the Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, opened in Roppongi, Tokyo in November 1933. The company was incorporated as Precision Optical Industry, Co., Ltd. on August 10, 1937, became Canon Camera Co. in 1947 and Canon Inc. in 1969.
Where does the name Canon come from?
Goro Yoshida named the 1934 prototype Kwanon after Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. The lab filed for the 'Canon' trademark in 1935; the word means a standard or criterion, which suited a precision-instrument maker selling worldwide.
What was Canon's first camera?
The Hansa Canon, released in 1936. Nippon Kogaku, the predecessor of Nikon, supplied its Nikkor 50mm lens, lens mount and rangefinder, and the camera was sold through the Omiya camera shop under its 'Hansa' brand.
When did Canon start making copiers and printers?
Canon launched the Canola 130 electronic calculator in 1964 and Japan's first plain-paper copier, the NP-1100, in 1970. It later developed laser beam printers and Bubble Jet inkjet technology, and printing became its largest business.
When did Canon launch the EOS camera system?
The EOS 650 and its all-electronic EF lens mount arrived in March 1987. Canon added the full-frame EOS R mirrorless system and RF mount in 2018.
How did Canon enter medical imaging?
Canon bought Toshiba Medical Systems for ¥665.5 billion (about $5.9 billion) in December 2016 and renamed it Canon Medical Systems. Its operations were merged into Canon Inc. on April 1, 2026.
What are the most recent milestones in Canon's history?
Canon launched its nanoimprint lithography system in 2023 and shipped the first unit in 2024, reported record 2025 net sales of ~$31 billion (¥4,624.7 billion), unveiled its Phase VII plan in January 2026 and named Kazuto Ogawa President and COO in March 2026.
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