Canon vs Sony: Founders, CEOs and History
Canon was founded in 1937 by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and is led by Fujio Mitarai. Sony was founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka, Akio Morita and is led by Hiroki Totoki.
Company facts
Founders
Canon
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.
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.
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.
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…
Sony
Masaru Ibuka
Masaru Ibuka was an absolutely legendary Japanese electrical engineer, fiercely visionary industrial pioneer, and the profoundly influential technical patriarch fundamentally responsible for inventing the highly revolutionary electronics that built the massive…
Akio Morita
Akio Morita co-founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Sony) in 1946 and served as its chairman and chief executive through much of the company's global expansion phase.
CEOs and their tenures
Canon
- Takeshi Mitarai1942–1974
President
An obstetrician who backed the 1933 camera laboratory, he became president of Precision Optical Industry in 1942 and led the company as it became Canon Camera Co. in 1947, listed in Tokyo in 1949 and opened sales offices in New York and Geneva in the 1950s.
Source - Ryuzaburo Kaku1977–1989
President, later Chairman
President from 1977 to 1989 and chairman until 1997. He led Canon through its growth in copiers and laser printers and introduced the kyosei corporate philosophy in 1988.
Source - Fujio Mitarai1995–present
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Born in 1935 and a nephew of Takeshi Mitarai, he joined Canon in 1961, ran Canon U.S.A. as president from 1979 to 1989 and became president of Canon Inc. in 1995.
Source - Tsuneji Uchida2006–2012
President and Chief Operating Officer
Became president in 2006 when Fujio Mitarai moved to Chairman and CEO, and held the role until Mitarai returned as president in 2012.
Source - Masaya Maeda2016–2020
President and Chief Operating Officer
Took over as president in March 2016 while Fujio Mitarai remained Chairman and CEO, and stepped down for health reasons on May 1, 2020, becoming Chief Technology Advisor.
Source - Kazuto Ogawa2026–present
President and Chief Operating Officer
Joined Canon in 1981 and led Canon Singapore (2005), Canon Canada (2008) and Canon U.S.A. as President and COO (2018).
Source
Sony
- Kenichiro Yoshida2018–2025
Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer
Yoshida led Sony through a major shift toward entertainment, games, music, image sensors, and disciplined capital allocation before handing the CEO role to Hiroki Totoki.
Source - Hiroki Totoki2025–present
President and Chief Executive Officer
Totoki leads Sony after years as a senior finance and operations executive. The FY2025 profile under his leadership is centered on continuing operations after the Sony Financial Group partial spin-off, with ~$83.6B (JPY 12.479620T) in continuing sales and ~$9.…
Source
Timeline: Canon and Sony side by side
1933Canon
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.
1934Canon
Kwanon 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.
1936Canon
Hansa 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.
1937Canon
Precision Optical Industry incorporated
The business is incorporated on August 10, 1937 as Precision Optical Industry, Co., Ltd. Takeshi Mitarai becomes president in 1942.
1946Sony
Company Founded
Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita incorporated Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation) on May 7, 1946, with 190,000 yen in initial capital. The company's stated purpose was to develop and manufacture telecommunications equipment.
1949Canon
Tokyo 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.
1950Sony
Japan's First Tape Recorder
Sony shipped the G-Type tape recorder Japan's first commercially produced magnetic recording device.
1955Sony
First Transistor Radio
Sony released the TR-55, Japan's first transistor radio, followed in 1957 by the TR-63 the world's first truly pocket-sized transistor radio. These products established Sony's global reputation and generated its first meaningful export revenues.
1958Sony
Renamed Sony Corporation
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. Formally renamed itself Sony Corporation, adopting the brand name it had used for export products. The company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in the same year, raising capital for expanded manufacturing.
1961Sony
First Japanese Company on NYSE
Sony became the first Japanese company to list American Depositary Receipts on the New York Stock Exchange, gaining access to American capital markets and enhancing its US brand credibility with institutional investors and retail partners simultaneously.
1964Canon
Canola 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.
1969Canon
Renamed 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.
1979Sony
Walkman Launch
Sony introduced the Walkman TPS-L2 in July 1979 a portable cassette player with no recording capability that Akio Morita championed against significant internal skepticism.
1982Sony
First Commercial CD Player
Sony launched the CDP-101, the world's first commercial compact disc player, in Japan in October 1982.
1987Canon
EOS 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.
1987Sony
CBS Records Acquisition
Sony acquired CBS Records for approximately $2 billion, gaining control of Columbia, Epic, and RCA record labels and a catalog that included artists from Michael Jackson to Bruce Springsteen.
1989Sony
Columbia Pictures Acquisition
Sony acquired Columbia Pictures Entertainment for $3.4 billion in a transaction widely criticized as Japanese corporate hubris.
1994Sony
PlayStation Launch in Japan
Sony launched the original PlayStation console in Japan on December 3, 1994, followed by the US launch in September 1995. The console sold 102 million units globally over its lifetime and established Sony as the dominant force in video game hardware.
1995Canon
Fujio 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.
2003Canon
Start 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.
2016Canon
Toshiba 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.
2018Canon
EOS R mirrorless system
Canon launches the full-frame EOS R mirrorless system and RF lens mount.
2020Sony
PlayStation 5 Launch
Sony launched the PlayStation 5 in November 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, generating demand that outpaced supply for nearly two years.
2023Canon
Nanoimprint 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.
2023Sony
Bungie Acquisition Completed
Sony completed its $3.6 billion acquisition of Bungie, the studio behind Destiny 2, in July 2022.
2024Canon
First 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.
2025Canon
Record 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).
2026Canon
Phase 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.
2026Sony
Sony reports FY2025 results after Financial Services spin-off
Sony reported FY2025 continuing-operations sales of ~$83.6B (JPY 12.479620T) and explained that the Sony Financial Group spin-off created a discontinued-operation accounting loss.
Acquisitions
Canon
- Canon Electronics (minority shares)2026Undisclosed
- Redlen Technologies2021$335M
- BriefCam2018Undisclosed
- Kite2017Undisclosed
- Toshiba Medical Systems2016$5.9B
- Axis Communications2015$2.8B
Sony
- Bungie2022$3.6B
- Crunchyroll2021$1.2B
- Columbia Pictures Entertainment1989$3.4B
- CBS Records1987$2B
Questions about Canon vs Sony
Who is the CEO of Canon Inc. and Sony Group Corp.?
Canon Inc. is led by Fujio Mitarai and Sony Group Corp. is led by Hiroki Totoki. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Canon Inc. founded vs Sony Group Corp.?
Canon Inc. was founded in 1937 — 9 years before Sony Group Corp., which was founded in 1946. Canon Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Sony Group Corp..
How many employees does Canon Inc. have compared to Sony Group Corp.?
Canon Inc. employs approximately 165,547 people, while Sony Group Corp. employs approximately 94,900. Canon Inc. has the larger workforce at 165,547 employees, compared to Sony Group Corp.'s 94,900. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Canon Inc. and Sony Group Corp. headquartered?
Both Canon Inc. and Sony Group Corp. are headquartered in Japan, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Canon Inc. and Sony Group Corp.?
Canon Inc. was founded by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida, Saburo Uchida, Takeo Maeda. Sony Group Corp. was founded by Masaru Ibuka, Akio Morita.
Which company has a longer operating history — Canon Inc. or Sony Group Corp.?
Canon Inc. has been operating for approximately 89 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Sony Group Corp. has been in operation for around 80 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Canon vs Sony overview