Founder Profile
Takeo Maeda
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Takeo Maeda?
Takeo Maeda is a founder of Canon Inc., which was founded in 1937 with Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida and Saburo Uchida.
- Company founded
- Canon Inc.
- Founded
- 1937
- Co-founders
- Takeshi Mitarai, Goro Yoshida and Saburo Uchida
Background
Maeda came to the venture through his work for Uchida and is listed by Canon's Camera Museum among the three people who established the 1933 laboratory.
Founding Story
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).
Sources
This profile does not yet cite a source specific to Takeo Maeda. The sources below document the company company rather than the person, so check them against the claims above.
- Canon Integrated Report 2026: Financial Data (Canon Inc.)
- Canon Inc. Annual Reports (Canon Inc.)